First CARACAL Production Vehicle

On October 29, 2026, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland B.V. delivered the first production vehicles of the CARACAL—the official military designation is Airborne Platform Combat System (EinsSysLLPlattf)—at the Dutch production site in Ede to the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology, and Use of the German Armed Forces (BAAINBw) and the Dutch Material and IT Command (COMMIT).

The CARACAL is designed as a modular, multifunctional mobility and weapon carrier for airborne troops, intended for air-mobile operations and global deployments. It is based on the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Series 464 vehicle platform, on which the “Wolf 2” vehicle system—already successfully introduced by the Bundeswehr—is also based. The use of the same chassis brings a number of synergy effects, with logistics and maintenance being of particular importance. In addition, the vehicle’s operation continues to be modeled after the civilian Mercedes-Benz G-Class, which facilitates training for the troops.

The CARACAL can be transported to deployment locations as an internal load inside or as an external load on the CH-47 heavy transport helicopter. The vehicle system offers sufficient payload capacity and a modular storage system. This allows the platform to be flexibly adapted to the requirements of each mission.

The Bundeswehr will initially receive Vehicle Variant 1 of the CARACAL—the personnel/material transporter—which can be equipped for specific missions. In addition, the German and Dutch airborne forces will receive Vehicle Variant 2—the medical evacuation vehicle. A total of more than 1,000 CARACAL vehicle systems are scheduled to be delivered to the German Armed Forces by 2030.

RHEINMETALL online