Germany and the Netherlands order CARACAL air landing vehicles

Rheinmetall has been awarded a contract by the German Bundeswehr and the Dutch Armed Forces for the delivery of up to 3,058 Caracal airborne platforms. This is a multi-year framework contract for up to 2,054 German and 1,004 Dutch vehicles, with a total contract value of up to 1.9 billion EUR gross. In a first step, a firm order was placed under the framework contract for 1,508 vehicles worth around 870 million EUR gross. The procurement on the German side is funded through the Bundeswehr's special fund.
The Caracal is a joint product resulting from Rheinmetall's partnership with Mercedes-Benz AG and Armoured Car Systems GmbH. The delivery of the first trial vehicles is already planned for the first quarter of 2024, with series production expected to start in early 2025. 

The 4x4 all-wheel drive vehicle Caracal is specifically tailored to meet the requirements for mobile platforms for airborne or special forces units of the armed forces. The procurement of the "Airborne Platform Systems" is being carried out against the backdrop of heightened security conditions and a focus on urgently needed capacities for national and alliance defense. Due to the close military cooperation between the German and Dutch armed forces and a similar demand situation in both countries, the project has been operated as a bilateral procurement from the outset. 
The competitive process, which started in October 2022, was expedited through two offer phases. Rheinmetall ultimately submitted the more economical offer by balancing price and technology against the remaining competitor. 

The Caracal is based on a standard chassis of the new military G-Model series 464 from Mercedes-Benz. This provides the Caracal with a fully industrialized market-available platform that Rheinmetall will offer to numerous international users in the future and provide logistical support throughout the service life. 

With the Caracal, Rheinmetall is expanding its portfolio of tactical vehicle systems in the light 4x4 segment below 10 tons and expects an additional growth area here. 
"Together with our partners Mercedes-Benz AG and Armoured Car Systems GmbH, we have fully industrialized vehicle production, allowing us to deliver large quantities in industrial series quality quickly," said Dr. Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH. "The final assembly of all German and Dutch vehicles will take place at our facility in Ede/NL and at our designated partner VDL Special Vehicles B.V. in Eindhoven. This will allow us to scale our production at two assembly locations and contribute to sustainable value creation in our partner country of the Netherlands."

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More CARACAL on SPARTANAT

– AUCH DIE NIEDERLÄNDER FÜR CARACAL

– NEUE DEUTSCHE LUFTLANDEPLATTFORM: ALLES FÜR RHEINMETALL CARACAL

– EUROSATORY 22: CARACAL LANDET LUFT