It's done: Hungary has ordered the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle! Following the announcement on August 17, 2020, the government in Budapest has now ordered 218 Lynx armored personnel carriers, nine Buffalo 3 armored recovery vehicles, simulators, spare parts and training services for over two billion euros. Just five years have passed since the idea for a new infantry fighting vehicle developed into a market-ready product through strategies, concepts and development.
With this first order for the Lynx KF41 - a good two years after the first public presentation at Eurosatory 2018 - the infantry fighting vehicle has made the market breakthrough and is about to start series production.
The contract signed in Budapest by General Ferenc Korom, commander of the Hungarian armed forces, and Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall AG, stipulates that the tanks and their peripherals will be delivered in two phases. In a first production phase, Hungary is to receive 46 Lynx armored personnel carriers and nine Buffalo 3 armored recovery vehicles made in Germany, with delivery scheduled for completion by early 2023. In a second phase, 172 more Lynx vehicles are to be produced in Hungary, which will serve to complete the equipment of the country's armed forces.
For the second production phase, a joint venture company is being set up in Zalaegerszeg (210 km west of Budapest) for the production of the Lynx vehicles, with Rheinmetall as the majority manager. The Hungarian partner is contributing a new production line to the joint venture as a key investment. The emerging competence center for the development, manufacture and maintenance of armored vehicles will be an important nucleus of the defense technology industry in Hungary. At the same time, the joint venture with the local production partner in Hungary ensures that a significant proportion of the added value comes from procuring the combat vehicles in the customer's country.
The Lynx concept includes a complete vehicle family, consisting of the driving module and the flexible mission equipment in numerous variants. This allows each base vehicle to be configured as an armored personnel carrier, armored personnel carrier, command vehicle or ambulance. The configuration change is possible within a few hours.
Hungary has ordered the Lynx KF41 in the armored personnel carrier version, with a Lance 2.0 manned turret armed with a 30mm cannon. With its large interior volume, the Lynx offers space for three crew members and an infantry group with up to nine soldiers perched. Inside, the crew is protected from the full spectrum of threats, including explosions, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), direct and indirect fire, cluster munitions and anti-tank missiles.
Further details on the Lynx KF41 can be found in the brochure “The Lynx Family”, which has just been published by Mittler Report Verlagherecan be ordered.
With the Zrínyi 2026 program, Hungary initiated the modernization of the armed forces, ultimately also to meet the requirements of NATO, of which Hungary has been a member since 1999. For the equipment of the combat troops, the replacement of the Russian defense technology, which essentially originates from the Warsaw Pact times, has been started in several large orders.
With the re-equipment of the combat troops, the Hungarians reached the technical level of the Allies in NATO. Cooperation projects with suppliers strengthen the Hungarian defense industry and should contribute to a sustainable expansion of the defense capabilities of one of the youngest NATO and EU members.
Gerhard Heiming
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