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Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) has formally partnered with Melbourne-based Marand Precision Engineering to deliver the Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle in Australia should it be selected by the Commonwealth of Australia for the LAND 400 Phase 3 program.
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The Lynx is a next generation tracked, digitised and highly protected IFV built to meet the stringent military requirements of the $18.1-$27.1 billion LAND 400 Phase 3 program.
The Australian Army needs a new IFV for close combat to close in and defeat an enemy in the most dangerous and lethal environments for Australian soldiers.
Marand has operations in Melbourne and Geelong and supplies sophisticated engineering solutions to the defence, aerospace, rail, mining and energy sectors. It designs and manufactures complex innovative solutions for its customer base including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, BHP and Rio Tinto.
Marand CEO Rohan Stocker said, “We look forward to our strategic partnership with Rheinmetall and TEAM LYNX.”
Rheinmetall has delivered three Lynx vehicles to compete in the test and evaluation trials as part of the Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) to be conducted around Australia over a 12 month time frame.
“Marand has decades of experience across a variety of industries, where our manufacturing expertise, business systems and scale truly set us apart from our competitors. We look forward to expanding our presence in Australia’s Defence industry and working alongside Rheinmetall to build the Lynx in Australia,” Stocker added.
The extensive testing regime, considered world leading, will put vehicles through a range of trials including lethality, mobility and blast tests.
If selected by the Commonwealth, the Lynx fleet will be manufactured in Australia by a nation-wide network of companies.
Rheinmetall Defence Australia managing director Gary Stewart said Marand was an outstanding Australian company with a reputation globally in major Defence projects.
“We believe Lynx is the best vehicle in its class and sets a new standard in protection and the lethality needed to survive and defeat any adversary,” Stewart said.
“Marand is a proven partner with a global presence in Defence and its design, development and manufacturing work will be critical to the successful delivery of our vehicles to the Australian customer.”
Lynx has been selected by the Hungarian Armed Forces for the delivery of more than 200 vehicles in the first launch order for the vehicle globally.
The Lynx KF41 will include the capability to support a crew of 12 (three crew, up to nine troops), have a max road speed of 70km/h, a road range of more than 500 kilometres, with an armament consisting of the Lance 2.0 30-35mm autocannon, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a variety of additional close-in weapons systems.
Stephen Kuper
Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.
