Lithuania’s armed forces have now fixed technical and software problems on their Germany-made Boxer IFV platform that houses an Israeli turret, the country’s Defence Ministry reports.
“Upgrades are now being installed in vehicles delivered to Lithuania and this process will be finalised in November. The delivery of new Vilkas Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) to the Lithuanian Armed Forces will also resume in early October,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.
Earlier this year, the armed forces found that the Boxer IFVs, renamed Vilkas in Lithuania, were not combat-ready due to software defects.
On August 29, the implementation of the project was assessed at the headquarters of the Organization for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) in Germany, which hosted talks between the Lithuanian Defense Ministry and the manufacturers of infantry vehicles – Kraus Mafei Wegmann, Rheinamtall, Rafael and IAI.
Anusauskas said that manufacturers had allocated additional resources to identify and correct defects. Also, the German manufacturers had committed to extend the warranty period for the vehicles that had already been delivered, he added.
Around half of the 88 ordered IFVs have already reached Lithuania. The country had expected the rest to be delivered until the end of 2021, but the deadline had been pushed back to spring 2023.
Deputy Defence Minister Vilius Semeska said in late July that “the platform itself has proved to be successful and of very high quality”, while most challenges stemmed from the “Israeli-made turret”.
“I’d prefer not to disclose any details, but it involves software improvements, among other things,” he said at the time.
Despite the delays and problems, Lithuania has launched talks to acquire an additional 120 vehicles.
Vilkas IFVs are the most expensive acquisition in the history of Lithuania’s military, costing over 385 million euros. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
