Rheinmetall, the largest supplier of military vehicles to the Australian Defence Force has today announced the build and export contract of a Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) Test Chassis to the United States of America from its factory in Redbank Queensland. This is a landmark for Rheinmetall and Australia with the Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle test chassis to be manufactured at the state-of-the-art Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) at Redbank, Queensland and importantly, contributes to the Federal Government’s objectives as set out in the Australian Defence Export Strategy.
Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Gary Stewart said,“ the contract was the first of its kind and provided design and manufacturing export work both for the Rheinmetall team and its growing Australian Industry network. The Australian manufactured Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle Chassis is a test rig destined for Rheinmetall’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) campaign to showcase advanced automotive capabilities in the Lynx platform. The Lynx vehicle export order will be delivered to Rheinmetall in the United States supporting the business’s worldwide activities currently underway in the OMFV competition and the US Department of Defense’s Bradley fighting vehicle replacement program.
Lynx is a next generation fighting vehicle with unmatched protection and lethality. Rheinmetall has developed a next generation electronic architecture to ensure onboard sensors, systems and effectors are able to be networked into Defence’s broader network architecture. The new test vehicle will demonstrate advanced features of mobility. Tthe Australian export opportunities for Rheinmetall increased with this contract and provided flow on for Australian Industry Capability (AIC) partners that contribute to the Lynx IFV. The AIC partners are the backbone of Lynx manufacturing in Australia. Rheinmetall Defence Australia are proud to partner with organisations including:
Marand Roof module, Supashock Running gear, MILSPEC Alternator, and Bisalloy Steel and various mechanical and electrical fabrication partner content. While Rheinmetall has announced export of the Lance Turret to Hungary, this would be our first vehicle export from Australia.
The Lynx is a German armoured fighting vehicle developed by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (part of Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems division). The Lynx, configured as a KF31 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), was unveiled publicly at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on June 14, 2016. The KF41 variant was unveiled publicly at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on June 12, 2018. Rheinmetall has submitted the Lynx KF41 for the Australian Defence Force’s Land 400 Phase 3 program (also known as the Mounted Close Combat Capability), the Request for Tender (RFT) for which was released on 24 August 2018. Land 400 Phase 3 will replace the Australian Army’s M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) with up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and 17 manoeuvre support vehicles.
