Rheinmetall Delivers KF41 Lynx IFV to Italy for Testing
4 January, 2025 A Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle during testing in Greece. August 2022. Greece.
Photo credits: Rheinmetall German defense giant Rheinmetall has handed over the KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle to the Italian army for testing. This was reported by Defense News.
The tests should confirm that the combat vehicle meets the requirements set by the Italian army, which plans to order about 1,000 units in various versions. First of all, the greatest attention will be paid to the platform, which will be universal, as it will be used as a standard infantry fighting vehicle, as well as a platform for a light tank, armored personnel carrier, mortar and other options.
Rendering of promising tracked combat vehicles as part of the Army Armored Combat System (A2CS) program. Photo from open source
The Lynx combat vehicle was shipped on December 30 to the Italian Army's Montelibretti test center near Rome, where it will be tested by the experts from the army and Italian defense giant Leonardo.
"Army engineers and testers will get to know the Lynx and conduct a series of assessments to test the vehicle's mobility, protection, firepower and interoperability," the Italian Army press service noted. The program, called the Army Armored Combat System (A2CS), provides for the upgrade of a significant number of combat vehicles in the Italian army. One of the requirements is the development of multifunctional vehicles capable of solving a wide range of tasks.
The EUR5.2 billion program is intended to upgrade the Italian army's fleet of combat vehicles, which currently consists mostly of Puma wheeled armored personnel carriers and Dardo infantry fighting vehicles.
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In addition to the universal platform, Italy will also purchase the latest KF51 main battle tanks. According to the signed memorandum, Leonardo will develop a combat information system, electronic components, and the integration of combat systems and weapons in both projects.
The terms also stipulate that the final assembly of the combat vehicles, as well as their testing and further logistics, will be carried out in Italy with the share of Italian specialists at about 60%. The two companies also plan to develop and participate in a joint venture in the project of a promising heavy combat platform MGCS. Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the Italian Ministry of Defense planned to purchase about 700 infantry fighting vehicles to upgrade its fleet of tracked vehicles.
To implement this plan, the Ministry plans to invest EUR6 billion and purchase 679 armored tracked vehicles.
The procurement is expected to start in 2026 and last until 2035.
The Italian Ministry of Defense expects that investments from 2022 to 2035 will amount to EUR2.1 billion, but the total cost of the program is about EUR6 billion euros.