Australian army soldiers conduct firing tests with new Boxer CRV combat reconnaissance vehicle


According to a video published by the Australian Ministry of Defense, the Australian army soldiers have conducted firing tests with the new Boxer CRV combat reconnaissance vehicle armed with a 30mm automatic cannon. These tests were conducted during a turret conversion course organized for the members of the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment.
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An Australian Army Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle fires with its 30mm cannon during live-fire training as part of a turret conversion course at Wide Bay Training Area, Queensland. (Picture source Australia DoD)


The accuracy and lethality of the Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicle (CRV) have impressed personnel on a turret conversion course. After several weeks of theory, members of the 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) (2/14LHR [QMI]) traveled to the Wide Bay Training Area in late June for the live-fire component of the course, where they fired the main 30mm armament of the Boxer.

Lieutenant Stefano Rankin was on the course to be converted from the Australian wheeled 8x8 Light Armored Vehicle (ASLAV) to the Boxer CRV and said he was immediately impressed with the turret. Members of 2/14LHR (QMI) said the advanced sights on the Boxer CRV sped up target identification and engagement. Lieutenant Rankin said the most impressive part of the Boxer was the accuracy of the weapon system.

The Boxer CRV will replace the ASLAV 8x8 armored vehicle, the current reconnaissance platform, which has been in service with the Army since the 1990s. In August 2018, the Australian Government has announced the signature of a contract with the German company Rheinmetall for the purchase of 211 Boxer wheeled armored combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs).

The Boxer is an 8x8 armored vehicle produced in Germany by the ARTEC GmbH industrial group that includes German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH and Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V. for the Netherlands.

The Australian CRV variant of the Boxer is equipped with the two-man Lance turret armed with d with the Mauser/Rheinmetall MK30-2/ABM (Air Burst Munitions) dual-feed automatic 30mm cannon and one 7.62mm coaxial machine gun supported by advanced sensors and sighting systems. The weapon station of the Boxer CRV is able to engage targets at a range of up to 3,000 m and has true hunter-killer capability.

Hunter killer capability” refers to a combat vehicle equipped with dual independent sights and supporting fire control hardware/software in order to allow the gunner and commander to track and acquire two separate targets at the same time. Obviously, the physical gun turret cannot point in two directions at the same time, but hunter-killer capability allows the tank to have a second target fully dialed in and all fire control calculations complete while it's engaging one target.