The BSDA 2026 (Black Sea Defense, Aerospace and Security) defense industry trade fair is being held in Bucharest on May 13-15 this year. German group Rheinmetall AG presented the KF41 Lynx tracked infantry fighting vehicle and provided information on the project to tailor it to the requirements of the country’s armed forces.
Photo: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
Rheinmetall AG presented the vehicle in its baseline version, equipped with a manned Lance 2.0 turret with a 30 mm MK30-2/ABM automatic cannon and an MSSA (Main Sensor Slaved Armament) weapon station.
As the MILMAG editorial team learned, Rheinmetall AG has offered Romania final assembly of the vehicles at the facility of Rheinmetall Automecanica SRL in Mediaș, Sibiu County, in the historical region of Transylvania. The facility is also to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services.
The vehicles for the Romanian Army are to receive local optoelectronic systems integrated with the German sighting system. Romania has selected a variant without the MSSA weapon station. The tailoring to Romanian requirements is also to cover onboard radios and the battle management system (BMS). All vehicle wiring and probably aluminum components are to be produced in the country.
In addition to the baseline variant, Romania has selected configurations including a self-propelled mortar with the 120 mm Patria NEMO system, a command vehicle, and a medical evacuation vehicle, as well as Skyranger 30 air-defense systems, the latter in a quantity of 24. Rheinmetall AG plans ultimately to reach a 65% level of Romanian industrial participation, up from an initial 40%.
It should be recalled that on April 28 this year, the Romanian industry portal DefenseRomania was the first to publish a list of 15 projects approved by the country’s Ministry of Defense for financing under the EU’s SAFE (Security Action for Europe) loan instrument, which were submitted to the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, for approval.
Among them was the purchase of 232 KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles under the MLI (Mașina de Luptă a Infanteriei) program for 2,598.4 million EUR, instead of 298 vehicles for the originally planned 2,983.566 million EUR, although reports emerged of a 1 billion EUR overstatement. This will make it possible to equip 15 mechanized infantry battalions.
The unit price is to amount to 11.2 million EUR, compared with 10 million EUR previously, but the difference is said to result from an additional package. The remaining 66 vehicles are to be financed from the budget of Romania’s Ministry of Defense for approximately 738.6 million EUR.
The program to procure new tracked infantry fighting vehicles was unveiled in April 2023.
It should be recalled that the KF41 Lynx has so far been delivered to Hungary, Italy, and Ukraine, and, as the Lynx XM30, including with a new turret, is currently being offered in the United States. It had previously been offered unsuccessfully in Australia.