The government has ordered 44 of these armored vehicles.Continue reading
Prof. Dr. László Palkovics, CEO of N7 Holding National Defence Industrial Innovation Zrt, Paul Walf, CEO of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. and Dr. Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall Landsysteme signed a cooperation agreement on the development of the new generation KF51 Panther tanker in Zalaegerszeg, on Thursday, December 14th, reported honvedelem.hu.
The first units of the super-modern Leopard A7+ are only arriving in the armory of the Hungarian land forces, but the Defense Ministry is already looking ahead into the future. The high-intensity battlefield in Ukraine had demonstrated that the 44 Leopards, as advanced as they are, would not satisfy the armed forces’ long-term security needs and further armor is needed to secure the country’s defenses. Enter the KF51 Panther development program that might supplement the current tank stocks with additional vehicles for the coming decades.
KF51 Panther. Photo: Honvedelem.hu
“Today marks a major milestone in the strategic partnership between the Hungarian government and Rheinmetall,” said the minister at the signing ceremony at Rheinmetall’s Zalaegerszeg (Western Hungary) factory, inaugurated in August. “The KF51 Panther is the world’s most advanced heavy tank and with this development cooperation we are paving the way for its readiness for series production. We have good reason to be proud today, as we will play a key role in the development of the next generation of heavy combat vehicles in Zalaegerszeg after the ramp-up of production of the Lynx KF41, the most advanced infantry fighting vehicle, this year,” said CEO Paul Walf.
The head of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. stressed that the cooperation also means that the company’s development and engineering capacities will be given a new boost in the future and that they will start further expanding their team as soon as possible. “The Panther KF51 EVO sets a new benchmark in digitalisation, connectivity and mobility, while offering unparalleled growth potential. One example of this is the turret architecture, which will enable a future transition from the 120 mm gun system to Rheinmetall’s latest 130 mm gun,” he stressed.
The first public appearance of the KF51 Panther, developed by Rheinmetall, took place at the Eurosatory 2022 military technology conference in Paris last summer.
Featured Image: Honvedelem.hu