Hungarian army conducts first live fire exercise with new Lynx KF41 IFVs.

The soldiers of the 30th Armoured Infantry Brigade in Hungary conducted live firing exercises with their new Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicles in mid-September, as reported by honvedelem.hu and documented by Dániel Deme in Hungary Today. The introduction of these new IFVs marks a significant development for the Hungarian defense forces.
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Hungarian IFVs demonstrated their proficiency by successfully engaging both stationary and moving targets while performing both standing and moving firing exercises (Picture source: Honvedelem.hu)

The transition from the old Soviet-era BTR 80s to the Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicles was initiated as part of the Defense and Military Development Program. These new vehicles were acquired and arrived in Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary, where the retraining process began. Initially, soldiers underwent driving training, and now, the technical equipment's development has progressed to the point where the first live firing exercises could take place in Hungary.

During these training exercises, Hungarian IFVs demonstrated their proficiency by successfully engaging both stationary and moving targets while performing both standing and moving firing exercises. This training represents a crucial step in integrating the Lynx infantry fighting vehicles into the Hungarian defense forces and enhancing their operational capabilities.

Rheinmetall officially opened its new factory in Zalaegerszeg on 18 August 2023. The new plant marks a major milestone for Rheinmetall and underscores the Group’s commitment to Hungary. In the future, this cutting-edge facility will produce the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle, the world’s most advanced IFV.

Rheinmetall plays an important part in Hungary’s “Zrínyi 2026” initiative, which aims to reequip the country’s armed forces with locally produced modern equipment. The Hungarian Defence Ministry has contracted with Rheinmetall, Europe’s foremost maker of systems and equipment for ground forces, to supply it with the world’s most advanced tracked and wheeled armored fighting vehicles, including associated services.

Rheinmetall sees Hungary as a home market to be supplied with Hungarian-made products. In this context, a new, extremely well-equipped development, production and test center is now being built on a 33-hectare site in Zala County in southwest Hungary, including an EMV/ CLIMA chamber and a firing tunnel. In designing the plant, special emphasis was placed on the latest industrialization principles as well as flexibility, growth potential, efficiency, the implementation of advanced transport and logistics concepts and cutting-edge production techniques. In the quality control domain, a 3D measurement cell will guarantee fast, permanent, automated assurance of component quality, setting a new standard here as well. Over the next few years, another 350 new jobs are planned at the Zalaegerszeg plant.

Defense News September 2023