German company Rheinmetall presents its new Fuchs A9 High Roof, an improved version of the Fuchs 6x6 armored vehicle that entered into service with the German army in December 1979. The new version features several improvements including a new powerpack, modern digital electrical vehicle architecture, and significantly improved characteristics in mobility, protection, and payload.
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New German-made Rheinmetall Fuchs A9 High Roof in ambulance version at Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris, France, June 2022. (Picture source Army Recognition)
Numerous variants of the Fuchs/Fox armored transport vehicle have formed part of the German army military inventory ever since 1979, with over a hundred once deployed in Afghanistan. Thanks to its operational versatility and high reliability, the Fuchs/Fox has always been popular with the German army. Throughout its service life, the vehicle has been continuously perfected.
To date, some 1,600 Fuchs/Fox vehicles have been built. Today the armed forces of numerous nations place their trust in multiple variants of this tried-and-true system, including armored personnel carriers, mobile command posts, and vehicles specially configured for an NBC reconnaissance role.
The FUCHSA9 upgrade solves all upcoming obsolescence of the aging FUCHS legacy fleet, currently under operation with nine international FUCHS user nations. This allows customers to keep up their FUCHS vehicle fleet operational until 2040 and beyond.
The new Fuchs A9 High Roof was unveiled by the German company Rheinmetall during the defense exhibition Eurosatory that was held in Paris (France) in June 2022. The design of the original Fuchs has been upgraded with a high roof and a new armor package. The “high roof” variant comes with an increased internal height of 1.60m and offers the largest possible interior volume to enable the integration of space-demanding mission kits, like
The new high-roof version of the Fuchs/Fox can serve in roles ranging from Command Post to armored ambulance. The ambulance version was displayed at the booth of Rheinmetall during the edition 2022 of Eurosatory.
The armored field ambulance version of the new high-roofed Fuchs/Fox can carry four wounded personnel, two lying down and two seated. Furthermore, the vehicle is equipped with an advanced 360-degree panoramic vision system. Featuring fusion and a daytime/night-time capability, it substantially enhances the crew’s situational awareness. A NATO Generic Vehicle Architecture-conformant connection to additional sensors or a weapons station is possible, as is the use of virtual reality goggles, which enable the crew to “see” through the armor.
The Fuchs A9 High Roof is fitted with a new armor package to increase protection against new modern ballistic threats as well as Improvised-Explosive-Devices (IED). The front of the hull is fitted with a large windscreen which is also provided protection against the firing of small arms and artillery shell splinters. Each side at the front of the hull is equipped with a door that has a small bulletproof window in the upper part.
The modernized Fuchs A9 High Roof features a new, more powerful engine, a new transfer case, a new brake system, and a digital electrical system. All these things improve the vehicle’s off-road performance and make it easier to operate. The vehicle is powered by an MTU V6 Diesel engine developing 455 hp coupled to a ZF Automatic transmission. It can run at a maximum road speed of 100 km/h.
In terms of technical features, the Fuchs A9 High Roof has a Gross Vehicle Weight of 24,500 kg with a maximum payload of 7,500 kg. It has a length of 7.2 m, a width of 3.0 m, and a height of 2.84m. The vehicle can negotiate a gradient of 60% and a side slope of 30%. It can also climb vertical obstacles of more than 60 cm, cross a 1.2 m wide trench and cross a fording depth of 1.5 m.
