The Slovenian government has decided to terminate the agreement on the purchase of Boxer armored personnel carriers
Slovenia is ending the deal and will not purchase 45 Boxer armored personnel carriers from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation. This was a EUR281 million agreement. The decision follows a defence ministry-ordered audit which had discovered that the contractual price did not include all costs, as well as an adequate price comparison or explicit information on whether the vehicles had been tested in real-life conditions as required by the national defence strategy.
Euractiv reported about this. The agreement on the purchase of Boxer armored personnel carriers was signed by the previous government. The vehicles were to be purchased from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR).
Photo illustration/APC Boxer with a laser weapon.
Photo credits: Rheinmetall
"Our aim is to satisfy NATO requirements regarding the capabilities of our battlegroups, but not at any cost and most certainly not with prototypes," Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said. He pointed out that the country will explore other solutions at a lower cost and as compatible as possible with what the Slovenian army has already had. It is noted that the Boxers were to form the backbone of a medium-sized battalion battlegroup that Slovenia must put together in line with NATO commitments.
The Ministry of Defense is already looking for an alternative solution. The agency should do this by the end of the year.
The Boxer armored personnel carrier is equipped with a Strike Shield active protection system. Photo credits: Rheinmetall
At the same time, Slovenia will have to pay a fine of up to EUR70 million for terminating the agreement.
According to Defense Minister Marjan Sarec, the fine will be subject to a contractual procedure. Matej Tonin, the former Defence Minister who had signed the agreement, called the termination "exceptionally damaging". Putting an end to the deal was one of the promises the Golob government made when it took office in June.
As previously reported, the agreement was signed in May of this year.
Signing of the deal for the purchase of Boxer armored personnel carriers by Slovenia, May 2022
The Boxer is a German-Dutch 8×8 wheeled multirole armored personnel carrier with a modular design that can accommodate a variety of armaments including automatic cannons and anti-tank missiles.
Boxer MIV. Photo credits: Rheinmetall
Medical vehicles, mobile command and staff vehicles, etc. are also manufactured on the basis of an armored personnel carrier.
With the payload, the armored personnel carrier weighs 36.5 tons and can reach a speed of up to 103 km/h. Has additional Composite armour. Boxer has already been ordered by Germany, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Great Britain and Australia.
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