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On July 3, the first Lynx KF41 produced in Hungary received its license plates, announced Paul Walf, CEO of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. According to our well-placed sources, the official handover of the first Hungarian-produced vehicle is expected to take place towards the end of July, even though the technical handover to the Hungarian Defense Forces will commence some days earlier.
The Hungarian government signed a contract with Rheinmetall in 2020 for the domestic production of Lynx infantry fighting vehicles. The Hungarian Defense Forces will be equipped with 218 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles as part of a two billion-euro program. Of these, 172 will be manufactured in Zalaegerszeg (western Hungary) by Rheinmetall. The German defense giant’s ultramodern facility opened in Zalaegerszeg in August 2023, and the first armored vehicle manufactured in Hungary, rolled off the assembly line in December last year.
The CEO posted a video of the new milestone on LinkedIn on Thursday, writing:
Thanks to the efforts by our great Rheinmetall Hungary team in Zalaegerszeg we are now very close to the handover day and delivering our first Lynx to the Hungarian Defense Forces HDF ahead of schedule!”
As Hungary Today wrote previously, the Defense Forces were planning to start using the first vehicles in mid-2024.
Rheinmetall plant in Zalaegerszeg. Photo: X/SPARTANAT
The ultra-modern Lynx KF41 IFV can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h. This makes its specific power, or power per ton, one of the highest on the market. The Lynx’s operating range is 500 kilometers on 900 liters of diesel. The Lynx concept comprises a complete family of vehicles consisting of the common drive module and flexible mission modules in numerous variants. This allows each basic vehicle to be configured, for example, as an infantry fighting vehicle, air defence system, command vehicle or medical vehicle. By making the drive module identical, this system significantly reduces lifecycle costs and also allows military users to adapt force structures or develop new capabilities in a short time to react to changes on the battlefield. Lynx KF41 is characterized by high levels of survivability, mobility and combat power, as well as high growth potential, including in terms of total weight and power consumption.
The Lynx can also be equipped with LR2 Spike anti-tank guided missiles. The vehicle has advanced fire control, optical guidance systems, and its night vision capability is outstanding. The armor of the tank ranks among the highest in its class.
Photo: Honvedelem.hu
In accordance with the contract, seven variants of the Lynx KF41 are being supplied to the Hungarian army. Besides the standard infantry fighting vehicle, a command post vehicle, a reconnaissance vehicle, a forward artillery observer vehicle, a mortar track, a field ambulance and a driver education vehicle will be supplied to the Defense Forces.
With its large interior volume, Lynx KF41 is unmatched in its vehicle class. In addition to the three crew members, up to eight soldiers can be seated and conduct effective combat operations. Because of its digitization and modern design, the Lynx KF41 can take on today’s adversaries and offers upside potential against tomorrow’s threats. The modular architecture allows reserves in terms of payload, electric propulsion and processing to seamlessly integrate further mission equipment into the vehicle or enable further variants within a single vehicle family.
On July 3rd, Rheinmetall have also published news concerning the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding to establish a new 50:50 joint venture aimed at developing a European industrial and technological approach in the field of land defense systems. The objective of the agreement is the industrial development and subsequent commercialization of the new Main Battle Tank (MBT) and the new Lynx Platform for the Armored Infantry Combat System (AICS), within the Italian Army’s ground systems programs.
The research and manufacturing facilities in Hungary’s Zalaegerszeg are well placed to become the beneficiaries of this agreement, one that is shaping up to be one of the largest European defense cooperation programs of the coming years.
Featured image: Honvedelem.hu