The Slovenian military has received 40 new palletized load-handling systems from German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall following negotiations to send military aid to Ukraine.
Under the three-way agreement, Rheinmetall delivered the state-of-the-art swap body trucks to the Central European nation in exchange for 28 Soviet-era M-55S tanks Slovenia sent to Ukraine in September.
The swap scheme was Berlin’s response to Ukraine’s repeated calls for German-made Leopard tanks, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz‘s government had earlier refused.
Apart from the vehicles, the Slovenian Armed Forces received variable loader platforms, five palletized water tank modules, and an initial service package that included training.
Palletized Load-Handling Systems
The palletized load-handling systems offer enhanced survivability, sustainment capability, and tactical flexibility for military logistics.
The vehicle is equipped with a hook loader that allows for flat racks to be picked up or set down in all terrain without additional handling equipment.
In May this year, Rheinmetall officials handed over the key for the new generation trucks to the German Armed Forces following a June 2020 agreement for 4,000 vehicles.
According to the German firm, the palletized systems are mounted on HX military trucks to ensure commonality with existing unprotected transport vehicles (UTF).
“The UTF is a showpiece project that paved the way for new procurement methods,” Rheinmetall’s Michael Wittlinger said.
“It was the first large-volume flexible framework agreement. Financed by the German government’s pandemic recovery package, additional vehicles were called-off and delivered. By the beginning of May, 3,000 vehicles had been transferred to the customer – almost a thousand more than envisaged in the original framework agreement for delivery by 2024.”