News from China's military-industrial complex have once again caused a wave of comments. According to information from Defense Blog, the Asian country has created its own, strikingly similar version of the Boxer wheeled armored personnel carrier, which is a key part of the armament of several NATO countries. Images of the new armored vehicle appeared on the Chinese segment of the Internet, immediately attracting the attention of observers.
The similarity in layout and design between the Chinese machine and the German-Dutch Boxer 8x8 platform is obvious. The machine was filmed moving through the Baotou Industrial Zone in the Inner Mongolia region of northern China – territory where a number of key defense enterprises are concentrated.
Although the exact date of filming remains unclear, experts recall that images of this vehicle were already spotted in the same area about half a year ago. The Chinese version demonstrates a V-shaped hull, a modular structure and an armored driver's cabin, as well as an extended wheelbase and interior space. All these features coincide with the design of the Boxer armored personnel carrier, which is produced under the auspices of ARTEC - a joint venture of KNDS Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (RLS).
At the moment, the prevailing opinion is that this machine is probably not intended for use in the ranks of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, but rather is aimed at the foreign market for export purposes.
However, there are other hypotheses. According to some sources, the vehicle can serve as a modular test platform for the development and testing of weapons. This includes testing combat modules that are compatible with Boxer variants operated by international customers, as noted by Defence Blog.
Despite the great external resemblance to the Boxer APC, the internal systems, level of ballistic protection and powertrain of the Chinese vehicle remain strictly unknown. At the moment, there is no official designation of the machine, as well as information about its specific developer and manufacturer. The lack of company markings or logos in the available images is an indication that the machine is still at the prototype stage or in the early stages of pre-production.