First Hungarian-made Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle rolls of the line in Zalaegerszeg

Speaking at the handover event, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the war in Ukraine had shown that every country needs a well-functioning defence industry that is capable of supplying them with materiel at all times and in all situations. Referring to the efforts aimed at rebuilding the domestic defence industry, he said that ongoing conflict in Hungary’s neighborhood “has demonstrated once again that no defence industry – no capacities for manufacturing tanks and munitions – can be improvised”, because it requires development and planning for the long term.

The minister said that the Hungarian defence industry, once capable of legendary accomplishments, must be rebuilt by making use of everything we are good at, and we must establish fruitful partnerships with our allies to acquire the things that we currently lack. The plants constructed must be integrated into the fabric of national economy, and the results of research and development must be made available to the civilian sphere as well. As a result of this program, Hungary “is slowly returning to the class in which it belongs, the professional league”. Domestic defence industry is already capable of giving substantial performance, which is outstanding even by international standards. The Gidráns and various drones built here represent cutting-edge technology, and the Rheinmetall Hungary Munitions Zrt. is about to be opened in Várpalota, too – he noted. Through these projects and the ones to be implemented in the future, “the defence industry can take its place in the engine of Hungarian economy”, not merely as a bolt but rather as a cylinder – stated Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

He added that Hungary is striving to achieve that its defence industry can manufacture all the equipment needed by the Hungarian Defence Forces. This, however, requires reliable and predictable partners. These partners have a good understanding of the changes in international defence industry, are at the cutting edge of developments and capable of delivering, thinking and working together to the highest standards. Hungary highly appreciates Rheinmetall’s role in global security, especially in European security. Preserving peace requires strength, and thanks to the activity of Rheinmetall and that of the Hungarians working here, our country has been enriched with a significant strength, he pointed out. The minister also noted that we can be proud of Hungary’s and the Hungarian people’s performance. “Hungarian engineers, developers, workers, welders and maintainers are our future”, who are able to give unparalleled technical performance.

Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized that the Lynx is “another universe as compared to BTRs” in the Hungarian Defence Forces. It is capable of engaging all combat vehicles except those of our allies, even tanks. At the same time, he noted that highly trained soldiers are also needed for entering the high-tech equipment in service and, in case of need, for warfighting. That is the reason why the ministry announced the first “Man to the steel” recruitment campaign last autumn, thanks to which they have managed to raise a professional military unit consisting of very committed Hungarian soldiers.

Björn Bernhard, CEO of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH said that the Zalaegerszeg factory had been inaugurated less than a year earlier, and the very first Lynx KF41, the world’s most modern infantry fighting vehicle has by now been completed here. Although invisible, what has occurred in the background during the last few years is much more significant, as Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. was established three and a half years ago, and then the Zalaegerszeg combat vehicle factory was built as a greenfield project, which uses state-of-the-art manufacturing technology. He also stated that other variants of the combat vehicles would also be produced in Zalaegerszeg in the future, such as commander’s and lead vehicles, as well as ambulances, among others. Beyond that, they are developing a new air defence system, too, which will further increase the strength of Hungarian national defence and Europe’s security.

CEO of Rheinmetall Hungary Paul Walf pointed out that the Hungarian government and Rheinmetall have long realized how much the security situation of the world has changed with that of Europe, too, within it. The Hungarian government has always considered it a priority to ensure the defence of the Hungarian people and the allies. As a result of partnership and responsibility, there are no other countries in Europe where one could find a better example of developing defence capabilities to this extent. As he said, Europe’s currently most modern factory with development and testing capacities can produce more than 100 vehicles a year. At present, the factory is operating with more than 220 employees, and they plan to provide another 200 Hungarian employees with jobs in the coming years.