German and Dutch armed forces receive first series production Caracal airborne vehicles

The German and Dutch armed forces have received their first series production Caracal airborne vehicles from Rheinmetall. (Rheinmetall)

The German and Dutch armed forces received their first series production Caracal 4x4 airborne vehicles from Rheinmetall at Ede, the Netherlands, on 29 October 2026, the German company announced in a press release the next day.

Rheinmetall Landsysteme and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland handed the vehicles over to the Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw), Germany's Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support, and the Dutch Ministry of Defence. The latter received the first Caracal driver training vehicle on 29 September. The vehicle exists in four different versions equipped for 28 different roles.

The existing contract is for over 1,500 vehicles and full life-cycle support over 20 years for delivery to the Bundeswehr and Dutch armed forces by 2030.

The Caracal is based on the latest-generation Mercedes-Benz G-class 464 military chassis also used for the Wolf 2 vehicle. Final assembly of the vehicle is taking place at Rheinmetall Defence Nederland's production site in Ede.

The Caracal will equip Bundeswehr and Dutch armed forces airborne units. It can carry four soldiers with their personal and mission-specific equipment. It can be transported in different variants with mission-specific configurations in the cargo hold of a heavy-lift transport helicopter or as an underslung load.

It can be fitted with modular, scalable protection against mines and ballistic threats and with weapons mounted on the vehicle's ring mount ranging from MG5 machine guns to automatic grenade launchers and anti-tank weapons. The vehicle is also equipped with a machine gun as secondary armament mounted on a co-driver's weapon mount.

Framework contract