The SX is a family of high-mobility off-road tactical trucks manufactured by Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH later known as the RMMV division. Production ended in early 2019 and it evolved from the MAN KAT1 range, marketed as the SX90 or S2000 range. It was marketed as the "most mobile and reliable truck on earth". The same chassis and cabin were declined into 8×8, 6×6, and 4×4 variants, with only the first two kept in production in later years. All were also air-transportable by C-130 Hercules. There was even a 10×10 demonstrator built with a 1000 hp engine. These trucks were declined in many configurations, and largely produced and exported, notably to Algeria, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Lithuania, Norway, Oman, Slovenia, Sweden, UAE and the UK. For the latter, it was chosen by the British DoD to replace the fleet of Foden, Bedford, and DAF Trucks with 7,285 ordered by April 2010 alone. It was replaced bby the HX range in 2018.

About MAN and RMMV

It's origin is the "Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg" company of Munich in Bavaria. It traced its origins all the way back to 1758. Its start was the "St. Antony" ironworks in Oberhausen, now celebrated as the first heavy-industry enterprise in the Ruhr. In 1808 "St. Antony", "Gute Hoffnung" and "Neue Essen" merged to create Hüttengewerkschaft und Handlung Jacobi in Oberhausen, later Gutehoffnungshütte (GHH). In 1840, German engineer Ludwig Sander created in Augsburg "Sander'sche Maschinenfabrik", later "C. Reichenbach'sche Maschinenfabrik" after printing machines pioneer Carl August Reichenbach and eventualy "Maschinenfabrik Augsburg". Süddeutsche Brückenbau A.G. was created in 1859 to built railway bridge over the Rhine at Mainz.

In 1898, Maschinenbau-AG Nürnberg (1841) and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg AG (1840) merged to create the Vereinigte Maschinenfabrik Augsburg und Maschinenbaugesellschaft Nürnberg A.G., which in 1908 was renamed Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nürnberg AG (M·A·N). At first it stayed in its heavy industries business between ore mining and iron production in the Ruhr. However in between mechanical engineering started to grow as its main activity between Augsburg and Nuremberg. Heinrich von Buz managed to go from a modest 400 employees company to an industrial giant of 12,000 by 1913.

Between its many departments, the company provided a wide range of models in Locomotion, propulsion, and still steel building, and piled up technological innovations notably thanks to the engineering unit under Heinrich Gerber, signing for example the Wuppertal monorail and steel bridges like Großhesseloher Brücke and Müngsten railway bridge. The company also manufactured a rotary printing press and from 1893, teamed up with Rudolf Diesel in Augsburg to produce a first workable diesel engine. In WW1 its war production was mostly indirect.

In 1921, the majority of MAN was taken over by the Gutehoffnungshütte Actienverein für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, Sterkrade (GHH) and integrated Deutsche Werft (1918), Ferrostaal (1921), Deggendorfer Werft und Eisenbau (1924), to reach 52,000 employee that year in 1921. Its first vehicle range was of tractors with "MAN Ackerdiesel" from 1938 onwards (terminated 1962). MAN, or especially GHH suffered of the Ruhr occupation by Belgo-French troops. Its total personel went down to 7400 in 1931-32, not helped by the economical crisis. Howerer if the civilian market shrunk, the arrival of the nazis changed the game entirely. Production wad redirected to the military and rapidly grew again.

GHH/MAN supplied indeed finished tanks, diesel engines for submarines or surface craft as well as cylinders for projectiles and artillery. It was renown soon for its workable Panzer diesel engines, but Maybach still had a monopoly on design and manufacture and no diesels engines were installed in production armoured fighting vehicles. MAN however produced gun parts, such as for the legendary 98k rifle. The manufactures at Augsburg concentrated on diesel engines for U-boats and surface craft whereas MAN works in Nuremberg still built 40% of Germany's Panther tanks and suffered greatly from Allied bombing attacks.



The allies split up the GHH group. The MAN firms of Southern Germany concentrated on engineering, plant construction, commercial vehicles, and printing machines, notably the acquiring truck and bus division of Büssing in 1971, and took shares in Deutsche Werft Shipyard in 1966/67) as well as acquiring the printing machine producer Faber + Schleicher (MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG in 1979). In 1980, MAN acquired Danish engine producer Burmeister & Wain, a world leader in marine diesel engines.

In 1982/83 the company suffered a deep corporate crisis after the second oil crisis and a bad internal economic situation and from an obsolete company structure. However resistance to change came from GHH's major shareholders Allianz AG and Commerzbank. However in 1986, with Klaus Götte, the group was reorganized into a contractual group with economically independent divisions. MAN headquarters went from Oberhausen to Munich, and the new name became MAN AG.

RMMV became the former MAN as joint venture as of January 2010, between MAN Nutzfahrzeuge AG (MAN Truck & Bus) and Rheinmetall AG. The latter used it to market a quantity of military versions. Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH, was the result of a merger of MAN Truck & Bus AG and Rheinmetall AG. RMMV is part of Rheinmetall's Vehicle Systems Division with Rheinmetall AG holding a 51% stake, the remaining 49% by MAN Truck & Bus. RMMV is capable of providing a wide range of armoured and unarmoured transport ad well as command and specific vehicles in 2010, however the 2019 restructuration focused on specific military trucks.

MAN SX Range

MAN SX range orignated in the cold war (1976) KAT1 trucks series (8,618 to the Bundeswehr alone until 1982=. The follow-on KAT 1A1, was launched in 1993 and the KAT 1A1.1 in 1997. The later were based on the F2000 commercial truck and with its driveline, the designation became "SX" with a range wihich continue o evolve like the 2000s using the TGA commercial range driveline components.

So the MAN SX series succeeded to the KAT 1 high mobility military truck range introduced all the way back to late 1960s. MAN market these now as the most mobile and reliable military trucks on the plaet and it entered service with the German military in many configurations. The British armed forces notably replaced all its ageing Bedford, Leyland DAF, Foden truck range by some 7 000 various MAN SX/HX series with deliveries starting in 2007. Austria, Denmark, Malaysia, Norway, Sweden among others became customers of SX vehicles, which were reputed to have a service life of 30 years.

The MAN SX series shares many parts with the HX family, as well as FX and LX families, but with a stiffer chassis and greater mobility. The MAX SX family is the only one with a modular cab that could accept an add-on armor protection kit jointly developed by MAN and KMW to provide protection against 7.62x39-mm rounds and shrapnel or grenades and anti-personnel mines. The cabin also can accept extra armored modules (ex. versus RPGs) attached outside and the Armored kit can be installed within 10 hours, in the field.

MAN SX 45

General Layout and configuration

We will start with the largest in town, the 8x8 MAN SX 45 introduced in 2007. The SX range shared a number of technologies such as the modular military-specific cab with the HX, FX, LX and MX range. It is a 8x8 heavy utility truck design to carry heavy loads on tough off-road conditions. Its aft payload capacity ranges from 14 to 16t. Specially developed to meet military requirements, for heavy, specialized equipment. It accepts radars, command shelters and long range telecopic antenna masts, as well as anti-air, anti-ship missile launchers among others, or just any specialized sheltera and could be turned into a light or heavy recovery vehicle as well. It could also carry flatracks and standard containers.

The most military feature of the MAN SX45 is its optional, integrated armored cab, providing protection against small arms fire and artillery shell splinters. The chassis and cabin could even withstands a 8 kg anti-tank mine. On top of this integrated cab a remotely controlled weapon station (RWS) would be fitted either sporting a 12.7-mm heavy machine gun or a 40-mm automatic grenade launcher. There is enough space inside for a driver and single passenger, but with a a third folding central seat, for an extra passenger. Windscreens are mounted vertically to minimize light reflections as well and the glass could be treated wth an anti-reflective and polarized cover.

General Layout and configuration

The MAN SX45 is powered by a MAN D2066 LFG 10.5-liter turbocharged diesel engine rated for 440 hp meets EURO 4 emission requirements. Engine is located behind and under the cab. Such layout allowed to reduce overall height of the truck. Engine is coupled with fully-automatic 6-speed transmission. Maximum road speed is electronically limited to 90 km/h. Gradient 60%, side slope 40%, vertical step 0.6 m, trench 1.9 m and fording up to 1.5 m. The standard SX engine was turbocharged and intercooled, as a six-cylinder, common rail diesel with max output pushed as far as 480hp and 2,300Nm torque in some configurations. It is in any case coupled to a ZF HP902 six-speed Powershift automatic transmission plus two-speed transfer box.

The chassis is made of a boxed-section, torsionally rigid design with beam axles sprung by long-travel coil springs (320mm per wheel, 16° offset per axle). The frame and cab are manufactured in Poland by Star Trucks plant acquired in 2000. The vehicle was designed to keep pace with tracked combat vehicles across any terrain. This high mobility truck is fitted with a central tyre pressure system. Without preparation if fords water obstacles up to 1.2 m deep. After preparation vehicle is capable of fording up to 1.5 m. Trucks with standard equipment can operate in temperature ranges from -32°C to +50°C. With special arctic kit these trucks can operate in extreme conditions down to -46°C.

This military vehicle is also available in 6x6 configuration (SX44) and a number of variants, such as a load handling system, bridgelayer, tanker, wrecker. Also there is HX81 prime mover, which can carry main battle tanks across rough terrain. Some of these military trucks can be airlifted by the C-130 Hercules after preparation. The vehicle is not amphibious but tactically it can be deployed by all air tansporters down to the C130 Hercules (and Airbus A400M). In some cuntries they are distribted under the Steyr badge, acquired by MAN in 1993.

IRIS-T

The IRIS-T (infrared imaging system tail/thrust vector-controlled) is a family of short range infrared homing air-to-air + short/medium range surface-to-air missiles (SAM) also classed by nATO as the AIM-2000. It was developed in the late 1990s to the early 2000s by a German-led program for a short-medium range infrared homing air-to-air missile in order to replace the antiquated AIM-9 Sidewinder still used by many NATO countries. It needed to be fully compatible with the racks carrying the Sidewinder and was first fielded in 2005 with a later SAM variant from 2015, and the longer range IRIS-T SLM from 2022.

OAlbeit shorter range compared to the Patriot it was developed as an alternative carried by trucks (MAN range). An IRIS-T SLM battery was supplied by Germany to Ukraine: Each consists of three truck-mounted launchers (eight missiles each in 2x4 canisters arms). They have a range of 40 kilometres or 25 miles so they could shoot down any aicraft at any altitude and intercept large missiles as well in their last leg. Each truck platoon is assisted by a separate command vehicle that could stay behind as far as 20 kilometres (12 mi) away. The latter is using powerful radar, and house a multiple display station to track multiple radar sources, to control up to 24 missiles simultaneously on targets. The IRIS-T SLM was tested against cruise missiles with success, such as the Kalibr.



The IRIS-T was developed in concert with Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Canada, and batteries are in service on some of these, but all have the earlier air-to-air version replacing the Sidewinder. The IRIS-T is a 5th gen IR missile, capable of a seeker receiving cues from radar, helmet mounted display, infrared search and track device, missile approach warner and data link, comparable to the AIM-9X ad ASRAAM. It is capable of good resistance against DIRCM.

The SAM variant IRIS-T SLS and IRIS-T SLM, is usable against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, anti-radar rockets and large-calibre rockets as well as UAVs and other small, quick manoeuvring threats at very-short range if needed. The Swedes deploys it not on a truck, but on a snow-track vehicle. The system is called the Luftvärnsrobotsystem 98 (lvrbs 98), with the Eldenhet 98 (elde 98) launcher installed on a variant of the Bv 410.

The German AF IRIS-T SLM was developed for the NATO MEADS program. The rocket is 25mm larger, and it had GPS-aided inertial navigation system, with radio data link for initial and unjammed IR seeker head activated in the terminal stage. So far, one battery was received, 5 more planned FY 2027. It could be carried as well on the MAN SX44 6x6 7-ton IRIS-T SL launcher as alightweight variant for export. The Luftwaffe uses the MAN SX45 8x8 IRIS-T SLM launcher.

Pantsyr S1E

(Next update)

Sky Sabre

(Next Update)

Variants and Exports

UAE

: UAE Pantsir-S1 (SX 45 8×8 truck).

⚙ specifications
Weight	Empty 13-21t, Max load 14-16t
Dimensions	10.5 x 2.55 x 3.92 m
Propulsion	MAN D2066 LFG diesel 440 hp
Speed	90 km/h
Range	750 km
Armament	Depending on the version
Protection	None
Suspensions	Configuration 8x8 coil springs
Crew	Cab seating 1+2 men

Gallery of models

MAN X45 8x8 IRIS-T


Saudi Arabian Pantsyr S1E, armored cab version


British SX-45 Sky Sabre SAM

Photos

Src/Read More

Schulze, Carl (2021). MAN Support Vehicles: Die modernsten Lastkraftwagen der British Army/The most modern Trucks of the British Army. British Special No. 9025 (in English and German). Erlangen, Germany: Tankograd Publishing.
MAN fire trucks at Interschutz. Biglorryblog".
MAN Nutzfahrzeuge - show_press
Rheinmetall_MAN_Military_Vehicles
On army-guide.com
IRIS-T
rheinmetall.com MAN Mil. trucks
MAN_LX_and_FX_ranges_of_tactical_trucks
RMMV_HX_range_of_tactical_trucks
KAT-1
MAN SX
SX45 on military-today.com

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Sd.Kfz 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were half-tracks designed just before the war as prime movers, to carry supplies, ammunition, personal, and tow artillery. Many were also converted during the war as armored versions carrying AA FLAK guns (Flakvierling, 37 mm, or the legendary 88 mm Rheinmetall als used as tank hunters), or were converted as nebelwerfer (rocket launching armored vehicles). They were built by Hanomag, Steyr, Mercedes-Benz, Bussing and many other manufacturers until 1945, over 20,000 half-tracks.

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