Rheinmetall has delivered the first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a series of field tests, which will precede a decision on the commencement of serial production of this IFV for our military, reports the portal Hartpunkt citing data from the publication FAZ.
In this context, it becomes relevant to outline the characteristics of the KF41 Lynx IFV, its production capabilities, and the specialized variants that have already been outlined based on this armored vehicle.
Regarding specifications, the KF41 Lynx has a combat weight of 44 tons, the power plant Liebherr D9612 delivers 1463 horsepower, and its speed on highways can reach up to 70 km/h. The vehicle's crew consists of three personnel, with a troop capacity of up to eight individuals, and its armament includes a 35mm automatic cannon, a paired 7.62mm machine gun, and (optionally) a Spike anti-tank missile launcher of Israeli manufacture.
Currently, the only user of the KF41 Lynx IFV is the Hungarian army, and the Military Balance 2024 report indicated that at least eight of these armored vehicles were in the possession of the Hungarian military at the beginning of last year. It is also worth noting that the production of these IFVs for Hungary takes place at the Rheinmetall plant in the Hungarian city of Zalaegerszeg.
Regarding production prospects for the KF41 Lynx specifically for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is important to recall that, for instance, by the end of December 2023, Rheinmetall's CEO Armin Papperger stated that serial production of such IFVs at facilities in our country could begin in the summer of 2025, with a production cycle of approximately 12 months.
As for the potential "price tag," there is an estimated valuation from the Polish resource Defence24, which states that when produced at Ukrainian defense industry facilities, the cost of one KF41 Lynx would be approximately 10 million euros.
In this context, it is interesting that we can currently discuss at least two projects of vehicles based on the KF41 Lynx. The first of these remains at the conceptual stage, referring to a hybrid of this IFV and the Leopard 2 tank named Lynx 120, with the first presentation of the project taking place in February 2022, yet it has not received any practical implementation to date.
The second option is a self-propelled anti-aircraft system with the Skyranger 30 combat module. Work on it became known in the summer of 2024, and initially, it was anticipated that this system would attract interest from at least Hungary, which is already an operator of the KF41 Lynx.
