The British Army has taken delivery of the first 20 of 500 Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicle (RMMV) HX support trucks which were bought under a rapid procurement process.
The 500 multipurpose RMMV trucks were bought under a GBP 282 million contract and will allow the British Army to transport essentials such as ammunition, food, water, and support materiel, to operational locations.
The swift procurement initiative was undertaken by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), Army Headquarters, and the Field Army, resulting in the acquisition of all 500 trucks within seven months. The initial batch of trucks was delivered to the troops one year following the contract signing at 7 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, located in Dalton Barracks, where training on the vehicles will commence.
An additional 40 vehicles are scheduled for training purposes before April 2025, with the complete fleet of 500 expected to be operational within the British Army by September 2025. This expedited procurement of the Rheinmetall HX vehicles comes at a time when the British Army is confronted with heightened commitments through Operation Mobilise and its contribution to the NATO New Force Model.
Brigadier Matt Wilkinson, Defence, Equipment and Support said: “The joint team across Army Headquarters, Field Army, DE&S and our industry partners have risen to the challenge of rapidly delivering capability to meet Defence requirements. The procurement of an additional 500 palletised load system trucks has significantly increased the Field Army’s tactical logistic lift.”
Colonel Andy Elliott, HQ Field Army said: “Field Army welcome the fielding of these critical vehicles to begin to close the gap in the logistic lift capacity required to deliver and sustain war fighting at scale. Delivering capability at pace challenges procurement processes and policies and lessons from this project can be applied to streamline future acquisitions, vital as the Army seeks to double lethality by 2027.”
Rebecca Richards, Managing Director of RMMV-UK added: “This collaborative venture, between Rheinmetall and the UK MOD, to deliver military capability at pace has been a supreme effort by both teams. It sets the bar for delivering new capabilities and highlights what is possible when NATO allies operate on a bi-lateral basis in their procurements.”
HX tactical trucks
The HX family consists of a series of specially designed tactical military trucks produced by RMMV. This range was introduced in 2003, with the initial order being placed in 2004. The HX series succeeded the previous FX and LX series in production. In 2012, the HX2 series was unveiled to enhance the original HX lineup, with the first deliveries occurring in April 2016. Initially, the HX and HX2 series were intended to complement the SX series; however, by 2019, they had entirely replaced the SX series, which ceased production. The HX3 series was announced in May 2021, with series production anticipated to commence in 2027.
Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles
Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV) was formed by the German firms MAN Truck & Bus AG and Rheinmetall AG. It operates under the umbrella of Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems Division. Rheinmetall AG possesses a 51% ownership interest in RMMV, while MAN Truck & Bus retains the remaining 49%. Originally, RMMV supplied a diverse array of both armoured and unarmoured vehicles for security and military applications. However, following a restructuring in 2019, the company has shifted its focus to military-specific and militarised commercial trucks.
