Rheinmetall to provide 55 Survivor R Sonderwagen 5 armored vehicles to German Police.

According to information published by Rheinmetall Defense on January 13, 2022, German company Rheinmetall has won a significant order in the key strategic market for internal security systems. The procurement agency of Germany’s Federal Interior Ministry has contracted with the Düsseldorf-based technology group to supply a fleet of new all-terrain, protected multipurpose Survivor R special response vehicles, to be known as the “Sonderwagen 5”.
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Rheinmetall Survivor R 4x4 armored vehicle designed for police and law enforcement units. (Picture source Rheinmetall)

Encompassing a fixed number of 55 vehicles, the order includes variants for the German Federal Police and the public order units of Germany’s State-level police forces. The contract represents sales in the upper two-digit million-euro range, though total order volume could be in the three-digit million-euro range thanks to options contained in the agreement for the purchase of additional vehicles. Following a Europewide request for tenders, Rheinmetall successfully overcame the competition to win the contract.

The Survivor R is set to replace its predecessor, the Sonderwagen 4, which was introduced 35 years ago. As a first step, the delivery of two sample vehicles is planned for 2022, which will undergo extensive trials, including full certification of the protection features. Delivery of the production vehicles is expected to begin in 2023 and to be complete by 2026.

During the ensuing utilization phase of up to thirty years, Rheinmetall will take charge of maintaining and repairing the vehicles under a framework agreement that can be extended in three-year stages, as well as furnishing logistic support at Federal Police and State-level public order police barracks.

For the German company Rheinmetall, the order marks a major success in the growing Public Security market segment. Moreover, this flagship project is sure to be of interest to other European law enforcement agencies and security organizations in the market for new special response vehicles.

Special Ops units of the State Police of Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony all deploy their own variants of this extremely maneuverable, superbly protected vehicle. In the meantime, Survivor R has proven its mettle in numerous operations, reliably protecting officers from lethal threats, including gunfire.

Rheinmetall developed the Survivor R in cooperation with special vehicle maker Achleitner of Austria, which will serve as a subcontractor in the major project just awarded. Final assembly and transfer of the production vehicles will take place at the Rheinmetall Landsysteme plant in Kassel.

Rheinmetall Survivor R 4x4 armored vehicle at Milipol Internal Security Exhibition in France, November 2017. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The RMMV Survivor R (presented SURVIVOR R by the company) is a medium-weight wheeled armored vehicle developed jointly as the result of a strategic co-operation between Germany’s Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) and Austria’s Achleitner. The vehicle was unveiled for the first time in June 2014 during the Defense Exhibition in France, Eurosatory. 

Based on a 340hp (250kW) 4x4 truck chassis by MAN, SURVIVOR R is equipped with an armored crew compartment by Rheinmetall Defence, combining proven series production automotive components with state-of-the-art protection technology of the leading military system provider in Germany.

The internal layout is bright and ergonomically designed, easy to clean and offers sufficient space for a crew of up to 11 persons including personal equipment and various command and communication equipment. An auxiliary heating and a powerful air conditioning system provide a comfortable and ergonomic operational environment for the crew all year round.