Rheinmetall Unveils Lynx KF41 IFV for US$13 Billion Australian Army Program

Rheinmetall has unveiled the first of three Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicles for Australia’s $AUD18.1 billion (US$13.18 Billion) Land 400 Phase 3 program.

Rheinmetall is delivering each of the Lynx vehicles to compete in the test and evaluation trials as part of the Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) to be conducted around Australia over a 12 month timeframe from November 2020. If successful, the Lynx fleet will be manufactured in Queensland at Rheinmetall’s new Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) at Redbank south-west of Brisbane.

Lynx is a next generation tracked, digitised and protected Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) built to meet the requirements of Land 400 Phase 3. The Australian Army needs a new IFV for close combat to close in and defeat an enemy in the most dangerous and lethal environments for Australian soldiers.

The RMA trials will incorporate a range of tests including lethality, mobility and protection. The vehicle unveiled will be the focus of blast testing at a dedicated Commonwealth facility in coming months.    
Lynx was unveiled at a closed ceremony with selected Australian industry partners at the MILVEHCOE. Each of the Lynx vehicles delivered into the RMA trials will incorporate a significant level of Australian industry content and local partners to the Rheinmetall offer for Land 400 Phase 3 will be announced in coming weeks.

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Said Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Gary Stewart, “Lynx has been developed so it is positioned at an ideal level of maturity when Australia needs it to enter service - and it will have a growth path to extend these capabilities through its 40-year life.”

Lynx has been selected by the Hungarian Armed Forces for the delivery of more than 200 vehicles in the first launch order for the vehicle globally. Rheinmetall Defence Australia will export turrets to the value of $150 million manufactured by Australians – and will soon announce further export orders into the Hungarian program including orders for Australian SMEs.

Rheinmetall is delivering 211 8x8 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army after the vehicle was selected by the Commonwealth after 12 months of RMA trials by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in 2016-2017.

Both the Boxer and Lynx are modular. That means the vehicle can be split in two, with a mission module sitting on a common drive module. This allows for swap out of mission modules for operational needs, reducing through-life cost for the introduction of new technology, and ongoing fleet management.
“Rheinmetall has taken all of the significant benefits of the Boxer and ensured they are part of the Lynx KF41 package,” Mr Stewart said.