On October 15, 2022, at the Petefi Sandor Barracks in the Budapest Military Garrison, a ceremony was held for the transfer by the German Rheinmetall AG group to the Hungarian armed forces of the first serial new infantry fighting vehicle KF41 Lynx, out of 209 units ordered by the Hungarian Ministry of Defense under the 2020 contract. Rheinmetall AG CEO Armin Papperger presented a symbolic key to the head car to Hungarian Defense Minister Christoph Salai-Bobrovnitsky. The transfer took place during the swearing-in ceremony of new volunteers who entered military service in the Hungarian armed forces. The ceremony was attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
The first production Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle received by the Hungarian Armed Forces. In the background, the first BPz 3 Buffalo armored recovery vehicle transferred under the same contract on the Leopard 2 tank chassis. Budapest, 10/15/2022 (c) HM ZrínyiThe transfer of the KF41 Lynx head BMP to Hungary marked the beginning of mass production of these vehicles, as Hungary was the starting customer of the Lynx family of armored vehicles developed by Rheinmetall.
"For centuries, the Hungarian people have been famous for their bravery and military prowess. The Hungarian people are a military people," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at the ceremony.
Recall that on September 9, 2020, the Hungarian Ministry of Defense signed in Budapest with Rheinmetall Group a contract agreement worth more than 2 billion euros for the supply of 209 (originally reported 218) new KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles to the Hungarian armed forces, as well as nine tank bridge-laying trucks and nine armored BPz 3 Buffalo repair and evacuation vehicles on the tank chassis Leopard 2 and 16 Rheinmetall MAN RMMN HX (8x8) heavy military trucks. The contract also includes the supply of simulators, training and briefing, as well as the initial supply of spare parts and maintenance.
The Lynx KF41 for Hungary comes in seven variants, including linear infantry fighting vehicles, command vehicles, combat reconnaissance vehicles, advanced guidance vehicles, 120 mm mortars, ambulances and training vehicles for driver mechanics. On October 15, Hungary received the first linear BMP KF41 Lynx and the first Buffalo BRAM under this contract.
At the first stage, Hungary should receive 46 KF41 Lynx machines and nine Buffalo BREMS by the end of 2023, all of which will be built by Rheinmetall in Germany. At the second stage, from the end of 2023 to 2029, it is planned to supply the remaining Lynx infantry fighting vehicles, which should be assembled at the joint venture currently under construction in Hungary in the city of Zalaegerseg. In August 2020, the Hungarian government signed an agreement with Rheinmetall to establish this joint venture to organize joint production in Hungary of the KF41 Lynx BMP for the Hungarian armed forces. Rheinmetall will own a controlling stake and will lead this joint venture in Zalaegerseg. At the same time, Hungary is making significant investments in the project in the form of the construction of a new production facility with the aim of creating "a center of advanced competence in the development, production and maintenance of armored vehicles, which will become an important core of the Hungarian defense industry." The full completion of the construction of the enterprise in Zalaegerseg is scheduled for 2025, it is planned that it will employ 350 people.
In the guise for Hungary, the KF41 Lynx BMP has a full combat weight of 44 tons and is equipped with a diesel engine with a capacity of 1130 hp. The capacity of the vehicle is three crew members and eight landing troops. The armament consists of a new Rheinmetall Wotan 30 30-mm automatic gun placed in the Rheinmetall Lance habitable turret (with an electric drive, the fire is conducted by programmable shots) and a Rheinmetall RMG triple-barreled 7.62mm machine gun paired with it, as well as Spike-LR2 ATGM launchers. A panoramic sight with a combined remotely controlled combat module with a 12.7 mm machine gun is installed on the roof of the tower.
Hungarian infantry fighting vehicles are equipped with a Laser Warning Sensors (LWS) warning system and an acoustic system for detecting enemy fire Acoustic Shooter Locating System (ASLS), as well as a circular surveillance system using television and thermal imaging cameras Situational Awareness System (SAS). The tower has a stabilized duplicated fire control system Stabilized Electro Optical Sight System (SEOSS). Also, all Hungarian linear infantry fighting vehicles will be equipped with the Rheinmetall StrikeShield active protection complex, and it was installed on the transferred lead vehicle.
The first production Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle received by the Hungarian Armed Forces. Budapest, 10/15/2022 (c) Rozgonyi Cecila and hungarytoday.huVideo of the head car transferred to Hungary [i]Rheinmetall KF41 Lynx, exhibited in Budapest on 16.10.2022 (c) Gabor M :[/i]
