The Netherlands signed a contract with Rheinmetall on 18 April to upgrade the Dutch army’s Bergepanzer 3 Büffel (Buffalo) armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs), the German company announced in a press release on 30 April.
The Netherlands signed a contract with Rheinmetall on 18 April to upgrade the Dutch army’s Bergepanzer 3 Büffel ARVs. (Rheinmetall)
Rheinmetall said work on the upgrade had already begun. Four vehicles are being upgraded for deliveries beginning in 2021, with an option for the modernisation of a further 21. The company said the upgrade and the option are each worth a double-digit million-euro figure. The Netherlands’ Defensienota (defence memorandum) 2018 gives a range of EUR25–100 million (USD28–112 million) for the life extension of heavy ARVs. The upgrade will extend the service lives of Dutch Büffel ARVs to 2040, according to Rheinmetall.
The vehicles will be upgraded at Rheinmetall sites in Germany and Ede in the Netherlands. The ARVs will be completely overhauled, converted to a new digital operating concept, and receive advanced visualisation technology, mission packages with ballistic and mine protection, new battlefield recovery equipment, and universal transport platforms. The contract also includes technical documentation, training, and other services.
Rheinmetall said the upgrade would give the Büffel significant growth potential. The new battlefield recovery equipment is being installed in the rear part of the ARV, allowing the crew to tow vehicles ranging from Bushmaster and Boxer wheeled armoured vehicles to tracked CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 self-propelled howitzers, Leguan bridge-laying tanks, Kodiak combat engineer vehicles, and Leopard 2 main battle tanks while remaining under armour driving forward at high speed. A flexible-use universal transport platform will also be mounted in the rear part of the ARV, allowing it to carry vehicle recovery equipment.
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