Under the contract, all 33 G-BKF recovery cranes should have been delivered by 15 November. However, when the original schedule was drawn up, nobody had even heard of Covid-19. As a result of the “force majeure” caused by the pandemic and the subsequent difficulties Liebherr experienced in production, the company requested an extension of four weeks in the delivery deadline from the BAAINBw. This was approved so that the final recovery cranes were delivered to the Bundeswehr’s material depot in Karlsruhe on schedule on 10 December.

G-BKF recovery crane

The G-BKF from Liebherr is an armoured recovery crane on a standard four-axle mobile crane chassis. It has excellent off-road capability and great manoeuvrability. Its two recovery winches and a towing hitch at the rear enable it to rescue and tow a wide range of different vehicles such as the new generation of armoured control and command vehicles (GFF), armoured transport vehicles (GTF), MULTI FSA (swap body vehicles) and wheeled vehicles which are already in use whilst the operating personnel is being guarded. The G-BKF can be used flexibly and economically since it is equipped both to recover vehicles and to hoist loads. Its 20.9 metre telescopic boom enables the G-BKF to handle loads weighing up to 20 tonnes quickly and precisely.