Berlin Police orders Rheinmetall's RMMV Survivor R special operations vehicle.

The Berlin Police have ordered a specially protected Survivor R vehicle from Rheinmetall. Tailored to meet the requirements of the Operations Directorate, this versatile vehicle is earmarked for delivery in July 2018. The order is worth a six-figure euro amount. After Saxony, Berlin is the second German region to equip its police force with the Survivor R.

Rheinmetall's Survivor R special operations vehicle
(Credit: Rheinmetall)

Made by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, the Survivor R epitomizes Rheinmetall’s commitment to the twin modern imperatives of security and mobility. Developed in cooperation with Austrian special vehicle maker Achleitner, the Survivor R is superbly suited to police SWAT team-type operations. Vehicles of this kind are particularly important in high-risk situations when special operators need to be transported safely to the area of operations, or for evacuating persons from the danger zone.

The Survivor R is based on a high-performance 4x4 MAN truck chassis, outfitted with a steel armour passenger compartment. Capable of reaching a top speed of over 100 km/h, this high-mobility vehicle combines tried-and-tested automotive engineering from large-scale production runs with state-of-the-art force protection technology from Rheinmetall.

The vehicle’s armoured monocoque cab can be individually and discretely equipped with add-on protection elements to meet changing threat situations; a ventilation system for filtering out nuclear, biological and chemical agents is standard. Despite its superb survivability, the external appearance of the police version of the Survivor R is intentionally designed to make a deescalating, non-military impression. The interior is well lit and ergonomically designed. It is roomy enough to carry up to eleven law enforcement officers and their personal equipment as well as extensive communications and command and control hardware.

Systematic use of civilian off-the-shelf and standard military components results in a sensibly priced vehicle, while simultaneously benefitting from Rheinmetall MAN’s global service and maintenance network. This makes the Survivor R a cost-efficient, easy-to-maintain vehicle with low lifecycle costs and high operational readiness.