Rheinmetall has delivered the first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine.
The delivery took place in December, and the vehicle is now being tested by the Ukrainian military for serial production, CEO Armin Papperger said.
Rheinmetall produced the vehicle at its Unterlüß factory in Germany, while serial production is expected to take place in Ukraine.
The German defense giant opened its first armored vehicle maintenance and repair center in Ukraine in June in collaboration with the Ukrainian state firm Ukroboronprom.
Four new plants are being planned by the firm in the country to make it self-reliant in defense production.
KF41 Lynx
An upgrade on the KF31, the KF41 was unveiled in 2018 with two versions: infantry fighting vehicle and command and control.
In 2021, a combat support version was unveiled to meet the Australian Army’s Land 400 Phase 3 requirement to fulfill maneuver support, logistics, repair, and recovery roles.
A year later, Rheinmetall announced the Lynx 120 as a fire support variant of the KF41, featuring a crewed turret armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun.
Features
The tracked vehicle comes with ballistic steel armor for protection against anti-tank weapons, medium-caliber ammunition, artillery shrapnel, and bomblets.
For crew protection, its interior is filled with a spall liner and is equipped with blast protection seats to minimize the impact of mine and IED explosions.
For armaments, the vehicle is equipped with a 30-millimeter automatic cannon with a range of 3,000 meters (9,842 feet).
Optional weapons include an anti-tank guided missile launcher and a remote-controlled weapon.
