What will Putin say? Hungary manufactures combat vehicles for Ukraine

The manufacturing of Lynx combat vehicles has already started. It is a collaborative effort between Ukraine, Germany and Hungary. Further collaboration is anticipated in both manufacturing and servicing across the three nations.

Production of combat vehicles

Index reported that Armin Papperger, CEO of Rheinmetall, confirmed the initiation of combat vehicle production for Ukraine. The contract is set to be signed by Kyiv in the first months of 2024 at the latest. Papperger added:

After the contract is signed, we aim to complete the first (Fuchs) within six to seven months, and the first Lynx within 12 to 13 months.

However, the company wants to supply combat vehicles to Ukraine much earlier.. An ongoing collaboration involving Ukraine, Germany and Hungary is in progress, with the initial ten vehicles being produced through this joint effort. The company envisions that after a ramp-up phase, they will soon be able to manufacture a significant proportion of these vehicles entirely in Ukraine.

Cooperation

According to reports, the German government has expressed its intention to grant the necessary export license for production. Rheinmetall is currently Ukraine‘s primary defence partner, with orders totalling around EUR 900 million last year and over EUR 2.5 billion this year. The company plans to deepen its collaboration by training experts capable of addressing any issues. This ensures that the vehicles will be serviced in Ukraine by specialists trained in Germany. Existing factories, well-protected over the past two years, will be repurposed for combat vehicle production, with no plans for new plant construction.

Lynx plant in Hungary

We have reported HERE that Rheinmetall’s Lynx plant was inaugurated in August in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. Népszava also notes that Hungary is set to be the first to deploy this cutting-edge combat vehicle, considered the most modern in Europe, as part of the Hungarian Defence Forces’ force development programme. The vehicles boast advanced electronics and technology. In March of the previous year, the German concern founded a joint company with the 1iG Group owned by Gellért Jászai, anticipating collaborative business development in IT services, production digitalisation, battlefield private networks, defence forces’ digitalisation and space technology. Hungary’s N7 Nemzeti Védelmi Ipari Innovation Holding has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Italian arms manufacturer Beretta on ammunition production in Hungary, as detailed HERE.