The HDF received the first of 209 Lynx armoured vehicles (foreground) and the first of nine Büffel ARVs (background) from Rheinmetall on 15 October. (HDF)
Hungary received its first KF41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and Büffel armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) on 15 October. Rheinmetall announced in a press release on 17 October that it delivered the first of 209 Lynx armoured vehicles for the Hungarian Defence Forces (HDF) at Petöfi Sándor Barracks in Budapest.
A Rheinmetall spokesperson told Janes on 19 October that the first Lynx delivered was the basic IFV variant. Hungary has also ordered command post, reconnaissance, joint fire observer, mortar carrier, armoured ambulance, and driver training versions.
An HDF photo of its first Lynx showed a Büffel ARV behind the IFV. The spokesperson confirmed it was the first of nine Büffel ARVs ordered by Hungary.
The Hungarian Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered 209 Lynx armoured vehicles, nine Büffel ARVs, nine armoured vehicle-launched bridges, and 16 trucks, plus ammunition, simulators, training, an initial supply of spare parts, and maintenance support worth more than EUR2 billion (USD1.97 billion) in September 2020.
Rheinmetall is building the first 46 Lynx vehicles in Germany, to be followed by the remaining 163, which would be produced starting by the end of 2023 at the company's new plant being built in Zalaegerszeg, eastern Hungary. Hungarian employees of Rheinmetall are working on the new Lynx vehicles in Germany.
Meanwhile, the HDF reported on its website on 18 October that its 25th György Klapka Infantry Brigade in Tata received its fourth Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 self-propelled howitzer and its first PzH 2000 driver trainer tank during the first half of October.
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