The hull of the Fuchs is constructed of all-welded
armoured steel. The driver sits at the front on the left, with the vehicle commander to his right. There are doors for both the driver and commander. The door windows and windscreen have metal shutters that can be closed up. When closed up, the
periscopes fitted in the roof of the vehicle, to the front of the driver's hatch, allow visibility out of the cabin. The commander has a circular roof hatch. The troop/cargo compartment, which is at the rear of the vehicle, is long, high and wide at its widest point. On the Fuchs 2, the roof height has been raised by for greater internal volume. Two assisted doors are fitted at the rear. On the Fuchs 2, a ramp is an option. There are three or four hatches in the roof of the troop compartment. In APC configuration, the ten
infantrymen carried by Fuchs 1 are seated on individual bucket-type seats, five on each side. These seats can be folded up when not required. Fuchs 2 seats up to nine on much-improved blast-resistant seating. The normal
amphibious payload for Fuchs 1 is . Depending on configuration and protection options, up to 5,000 kg of cargo can be carried on land. The Fuchs 2 has a maximum payload of 6,000 kg. Motive power for the Fuchs 1 is provided by a
Mercedes-Benz Model OM 402A
V8 12.8-litre water-cooled
diesel engine, with . This is coupled in a
powerpack set-up, to a six-speed
planetary gear
torque converter transmission. In the Fuchs 2, the powerpack is upgraded to a MTU 6V 199 TE20 V6 11.9-litre water-cooled EURO 3 emissions compliant diesel producing . This is coupled to a ZF 6HP 602
fully automatic six-speed transmission with integrated retarder. For test purposes, the power pack of the Fuchs can be run outside the vehicle. The
rigid Mercedes-Benz drive axles are of the hub-reduction type, fitted with differential locks and are sprung by progressively acting coil springs and shock-absorbers. Power-steering is on the front four wheels. The Fuchs 2 offers the option of a central tyre inflation system (CTIS). The 1400 R20 tyres are of the run-flat type. On land the maximum speed is . The operational range is 800 km. The Fuchs was designed as an
amphibious vehicle. Water propulsion is provided by two four-bladed
propellers mounted one either side of the hull at the rear. Maximum water speed is approx. 8 km/h. For steering, the propellers can be swivelled through 360°. Before entering the water, a trim vane, which is stowed on the
glacis plate when travelling, is hydraulically erected.
Bilge pumps are fitted. As part of the TPz A8 upgrade, the amphibious capability is removed, but the vehicles can wade up to 1.3 m. The welded steel hull of the Fuchs was designed to protect the crew from
armor-piercing small arms fire and shell splinters. For service with the United Nations
Implementation Force (IFOR) operating in
Bosnia, a higher level of protection was required and a batch of Fuchs 1 were upgraded with passive fibre compound add-on armour package developed by
IBD-Deisenroth. This armour package includes an add-on armour mounted externally on the sides of the hull; internal
spall liners fitted to the hull sides, rear and roof to reduce the secondary effects of particles having penetrated the main armour; additional elements in the floor area of the front and rear compartments to provide increased protection against
mines; new windows with increased protection and modification of the window protective shields. The TPz A7 upgrade included protection enhancements, as does the current TPz A8 upgrade. For the TPz A7 and A8 upgrades, additional elements protect the underside and lower part of the hull against blast and
IED threats. The baseline Fuchs 2 provides protection against small arms armour-piercing attack through a full 360°. To meet different threat levels, the Fuchs 2 has been designed to be fitted with enhanced passive armour packages developed by IBD. To enhance survivability while conducting Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), Rheinmetall has developed a modular upgrade package for installation on tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles. A MOUT demonstrator vehicle was completed in 2008, based on the Fuchs 1. Armament varies according to mission requirements. The Fuchs 1 can mount a 7.62 mm
Rheinmetall MG3 general-purpose machine gun over the commander's position. Vehicles of the Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion,
Panzergrenadiers mechanized infantry, the
Franco-German Brigade, the
mountain infantry and the
Jägers of the
German Army have previously been fitted with the MILAN anti-tank guided missile, but these are no longer in service. All vehicles have six 76 mm grenade dischargers mounted to fire forwards. Vehicles deployed to Afghanistan were equipped with a
GMG grenade launcher or an
M2 Browning heavy machine gun instead of an MG3. The Fuchs 2 can be fitted with a wide range of weapon systems up to and including a 30 mm cannon and 7.62 mm MG, as well as various missile installations, such as anti-tank missiles. Standard equipment for the Fuchs 2 includes an NBC system and an air conditioning system. Numerous options available include an automatic fire detection and suppression system, winch, global positioning system and an auxiliary power unit (APU). == Variants ==