IAV 2025 – First Hungarian Land Forces battalion equipped with Lynx IFVs closes to its IOC
At the International Armoured Vehicles Conference that took place 21-23 January in Farnborough, organised by Defence iQ, the senior Hungarian Land Forces speaker announced that the first battalion equipped with the Rheinmetall infantry fighting vehicle will soon reach the initial operational capability (IOC)
Being the launch customer of a new system means that you have to cope with the inevitable bugs that any human-built item includes. In mid-August 2020 Hungary signed with Rheinmetall a contract worth over € 2 billion that included 218 Lynx in seven different variants and nine Buffalo recovery vehicles, as well as simulators, training and instruction, plus an initial supply of spare parts and as maintenance support. The acquisition of the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) came from the 4th Development Programme of the Hungarian Defence Forces, which aimed at implementing the modernisation of armoured vehicles with a new generation of systems. In fact, the Hungarian Land Forces gave up their mechanised capability when in 2003 the decision was made to scrap the old BMP-1[1] tracked IFVs of Soviet origin, a decision taken in the “dividend for peace” era that followed the end of the Cold War. The close links between Hungary and Germany led to the choice of the so-called “German package,” which also includes Leopard 2A7s and PzH 2000s, which are also replacing Soviet-era main battle tanks and self-propelled howitzer in the Hungarian Land Forces units.
The speaker clearly highlighted how much the decision to create an assembly line in Hungary was important, this allowing in perspective to have a national hub for maintenance and upgrade. This was done through a joint venture, the Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., based in Zalaegerzeg which delivered the first locally produced Lynx in late July 2024, while the first system was delivered in October 2022; the latter was produced in Germany by Rheinmetall, the contract including 46 IFVs to be provided out of the German assembly line to speed up the entry into service of the new combat system. The first German-made IFVs were used in the initial testing phase that was then followed by training courses provided by the manufacturer to Hungarian military personnel, following the train-the-trainer concept. Beside soldiers and maintainers training, the Hungarian Land Forces must also cope with a wholly difference in maintenance levels compared to the past.
During the testing phase Hungarian soldiers highlighted some issues that were promptly resolved by Rheinmetall. Hungarian soldiers required the addition of emergency opening systems both for the rear roof hatch and the rear ramp, some improvements to the heating system having also been required, EDR On-Line understood. Some vibration issues were also identified in the initial vehicles; measurements carried out on soldiers highlighted that vibrations were under health vibration regulations limits, that said Rheinmetall is working on solutions to further reduce vibrations, the aim being to improve comfort as much as possible in order to have soldiers capable to be fully operational when debussing the vehicle, even after a 100 km ride. This give and take was in fact considered by both parts, the Lynx platform benefitting from the experience gained during the initial fielding by the Hungarian Land Forces.
Initial vehicles are being provided in the IFV and Command and Control configurations, and will be followed by reconnaissance, mortar carriers, forward observer, CASEVAC and driver training vehicles.
The new IFVs are being delivered to the newly formed 30th Mechanised Brigade; this is formed by three mechanised infantry battalions, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Grenadier Battalions. Each battalion includes three grenadier companies, each one on three platoons, one Combat Support (CS) company and one Combat Service Support (CSS) company. While the latter provides logistic services to the unit, the CS company completes the battalion infantry capacity with its Mortar Platoon, Antitank Platoon, UAV platoon, Reconnaissance Platoon and Sniper Squad. Currently indirect fire is provided by towed mortars, but Hungary plans the acquisition of Lynx-mounted mortar systems, while the Antitank Platoon, currently equipped with Spike infantry systems, will be disbanded once the Spikes will be integrated on Lynx IFVs, Hungary planning to do this on all KF41 in the IFV configuration, integration tests being currently underway, EDR On-Line understood.
During his presentation, the speaker underlined how much the Lynx is a different system compared those previously used by Hungary, the BMP-1 and the wheeled BTR-80. “Our soldiers define it as a vehicle built around a computer,” he said, underlining that the KF-41 perfectly matches the needs of protection, firepower, mobility, and modularity of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Battlefield awareness, automatic target detection, recognition and tracking cannot be compared with what previous vehicle offered, capabilities that can be fully exploited by new generation soldiers, the speaker underlining how “one of our best turret operators is a national videogame champion.” Ease of use was also highlighted, the speaker underlining that Grenadiers are infantry soldiers, not rocket science experts.
Beside the other peculiarities of the Lynx, the speaker highlighted its protection, which includes the StrikeShield active/passive hybrid solution, which ensures protection against rocket and missiles.
Another key element is the integration between the Lynx and the Digital Soldier System, which is being developed, centred on the HUNTACCIS battle management developed by the Hungarian HM EI consortium, and on Elbit Systems E-LynX family of software-defined radios, the armoured vehicle becoming the hub of the infantry squad.
Training is another key element, the Hungarian Land Forces being not only getting a new generation combat system but being also in the need to reacquire the capacity to deal with conventional peer-to-peer combat scenarios, which had been abandoned in the previous decade when operations other than war were dominating the scene. The 30th Mechanised Brigade staff is fully engaged in developing a new training syllabus, new tactics, techniques, and procedures and new troop leading procedures.
Simulators will play a major part in the process. “Three types of simulators are being acquired,” the speaker told EDR On-Line, “desktop trainers, box simulators, and a full motion simulator for drivers. These are included in the initial part of the contract and should arrive soon,” he said, adding that they ease the burden on real vehicles, each of them being currently logging over 500 km per month. Simulators will also allow considerable savings also in ammunition. The 1st Grenadier Battalion has received 45 Lynx, 25 coming from Germany and 20 from the Hungarian facility, the unit being nearly ready to face its validation exercise to reach the IOC.
As for the full operational capability, FOC in short, this will not be linked only to the 30th Mechanised Brigade status. EDR On-Line understood that tanks, artillery, and combat engineer units are part of the 1st “Klapka György” Armoured Brigade, for which Hungary ordered 44 Leopard 2A7HU main battle tanks and 24 PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers. The end state will be the ability combine the assets of the two heavy brigades to form two heavy Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) that will include combat, combat support and combat service support assets.
It is worth remembering that beside the seven Lynx variants on order, Hungary is considering an air defence variant based on the KF41 chassis. On 15 December 2023, the Hungarian MoD filed a contract to Rheinmetall for the conceptual development of the Skyranger 30 turret. If this will lead to the acquisition of new Lynx platform fitted with the turret developed by Rheinmetall Air Defence this will provide Hungarian Land Forces heavy BCTs with an integral air defence and counter-UAS capability.
At the Defence iQ International Armoured Vehicles Conference the Hungarian delegation could meet the Italian one, Italy being highly interested in learning the experience acquired by Hungary as, following the agreement between Rheinmetall and Leonardo that is leading to the creation of a joint venture, Leonardo Rheinmetall Military Vehicles (LRMV). Although some visits at the highest Army levels had already taken place between the two countries, IAV was a further opportunity to strengthen ties at operational level, Hungary being more than willing to share its experience on the KF41 with other potential users.
Photos courtesy Hungarian MoD and P. Valpolini
[1] During the Cold War Hungary fielded 490 BMP-1. They Hungarian Land Forces withdrew their BMPs from service in 2004.