Rheinmetall continues to expand Europe’s armoured vehicle production capacity. Following the opening of the Group’s production, development and test facility for armoured fighting vehicles in Zalaegerszeg, the first Lynx infantry fighting vehicle to be built in-country in Hungary has now rolled off the assembly line. It is currently undergoing commissioning. In mid 2024, following comprehensive function, performance and quality inspections in Zalaegerszeg, the first Hungarian-built Lynx will be transferred to the Hungarian armed forces. The Hungarian ministry of defence awarded Rheinmetall a contract in September 2020 worth over €2 billion to supply Hungary with Lynx infantry fighting vehicles and related products and services. In the first production phase, Hungary is taking delivery of 46 Lynx IFVs made in Germany. The first armoured vehicle was already transferred to the Hungarian military in October 2022.
“Rheinmetall is steadily expanding its production capacity in Europe in order to meet growing demand from our customers and to support European security”, states Rheinmetall executive board chairman Armin Papperger. “Opened in August of this year, our new plant in Hungary is the most advanced production and testing facilities for armoured vehicles anywhere in the world,” notes Papperger, going on to point out that it will further strengthen the Group’s global production network.
“We’re proud of our team in Zalaegerszeg and of our colleagues in Germany, who reached this milestone in record time”, declares Paul Walf, managing director of Rheinmetall Hungary.
Starting at the end of 2023, the remaining vehicles will be produced in Hungary by Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., a joint venture company co-owned by Rheinmetall (51%) and the Hungarian state (49%). Opened in August 2023, Rheinmetall’s ultramodern facility in Zalaegerszeg will enable the development and production of state-of-the-art wheeled and tracked armoured fighting vehicles for the Hungarian armed forces. These include the Lynx KF41 family as well as the Evo version of the Panther KF51 main battle tank. The contract originally envisaged seven variants of the Lynx KF41 for the Hungarian military: 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. As a further variant, Rheinmetall will develop a Lynx mobile air defence vehicle with a Skyranger 30 turret. The contract for the conceptual development of this variant was signed in December 2023.
The Lynx is a German armoured fighting vehicle developed by Rheinmetall Landsysteme (part of Rheinmetall’s Vehicle Systems division). The Lynx family of tracked armoured vehicles is at the forefront of a new trend in IFV design toward armoured vehicles with lower unit and through-life costs and reduced complexity. One of the key principles of the Lynx concept is the integration of proven sub-systems with a high technology readiness level to reduce development time, cost and technical risk. The Kettenfahrzeug 41 (KF41) variant was unveiled at the Eurosatory defence exhibition on 12 June 2018. The KF41 has a maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of up to 50 tonnes. The KF41 can carry a crew of three plus eight passengers. It is powered by an 850 kW (1,140 hp) engine and has a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). The Rheinmetall Lynx is one of the heaviest and most protected IFVs. In terms of protection the Lynx KF-41 is even superior of the German army’s Puma.
