The Bundeswehr recently signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz for the supply of Wolf 2 offroad vehicles. In particular, it is planned to supply 1,500 units of these vehicles for an undisclosed amount.
This contract is part of a larger framework agreement concluded back in 2024. It provided for the possibility of supplying up to 5,800 Wolf 2 offroad vehicles for the needs of the Bundeswehr. It is worth noting that this is the first contract within the framework of this agreement.
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The Wolf 2 offroad vehicle is a logical continuation of the Wolf vehicle, which has been in service with the Bundeswehr since the 1980s. They are fast, unarmored vehicles. The Wolf 2 will be available in versions for transporting command personnel as well as for use by military police.
Interestingly, the entire Wolf offroad vehicle family is derived from the civilian Mercedes-Benz G-Class. The first Wolf vehicles were built on the base of W461 chassis, later the Wolf 2 was already equipped with the improved W461 Greenliner chassis, and the new version of the Wolf 2 is already built on the W464 chassis.
The new Wolf 2 is slightly larger than previous versions. It is equipped with a 249 hp engine that meets Euro 3 standards. Its gross weight is 4.5 tons, of which 1.2 tons can be a payload. The Wolf 2 is designed to transport four soldiers in full equipment.
Before concluding the contract, the Bundeswehr conducted thorough tests of these vehicles, for which 5 such vehicles were previously received. The tests have been taking place since November 2024. During the tests, the vehicles covered 16,000 km on various surfaces, in various weather conditions as well as in a wide range of temperatures. Also, during these tests, the vehicles were transported by rail and air.
By April 2026, Mercedes-Benz plans to achieve a production volume of 30 Wolf 2 units per week, which is approximately 120 vehicles per month, or 1,440 per year. However, despite such a rapid pace, it is unlikely that they will be delivered to the Bundeswehr immediately, or will arrive in incomplete form.
This is due to the fact that the Wolf 2 is to be equipped with a new modular Digitisation of Land-Based Operations (D-LBO) digital command and communication system, which is only just beginning to be implemented and delivered to the Bundeswehr. It is likely that another company will be responsible for installing this system, which should take some time.
As Defense Express reported earlier, in the next decade, Germany wants to build almost 10,000 tracked and wheeled vehicles for the Bundeswehr to deter russian aggression and have the strongest army in Europe.
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