In Development: KF41 Lynx Prototype

Commanders!

This year, we have one more vehicle to show you – we’ve mentioned it briefly in the recent stream but now it’s here officially – the German Lynx Prototype.

Of course, we do have another Lynx in the game already – the Skyranger version. However, this vehicle is different enough for us to introduce it as a separate one.

The history you might be already familiar with from the Skyranger article but here’s a quick summation. The Lynx (by Rheinmetall) is one of the most modern infantry fighting vehicles currently offered and yet it’s not exactly special in any way. The idea behind it was to offer a more affordable alternative to various over-engineered modern IFVs such as the Puma. Not necessarily worse, just less complex and with significantly lower lifetime costs.

The first version of this private venture appeared at the Eurosatory 2016 expo in France – this was the lighter KF31 version, as can be divined from the name – KF stands for Kettenfahrzeug (tracked vehicle) and the number represents its weight category (in this case, some 35-38 tons). Two years later, in 2018, another model was unveiled – the significantly heavier KF41 (up to 50 tons) with correspondingly improved protection levels.

The vehicle itself was designed by Rheinmetall engineers to be as modular and easy to maintain as possible while offering unparalleled configurability. Its hull is made of steel. The basic protection level is classified but it is estimated to reach STANAG 4569 Level 3 (protection against 7.62mm armor-piercing bullets) – this armor setup bears the name MCO (Mounted Combat Operation).

That’s not much, but the hull can be easily upgraded with composite panels, likely increasing the protection to Level 5-6 (protection versus 30mm autocannons). But that’s only the beginning – the vehicle is highly resistant to mine and IED explosions and the armor is specifically designed to withstand ATGM hits. This upgraded armor kit setup is called CUE (Complex Urban Environment) – it’s worth noting that these terms were invented by Rheinmetall, this isn’t an official military term.

The protection also includes:

• Smoke grenade dischargers (the system depends on the turret)
• NBC protection system (similar to that of the Puma)

And can be enhanced by an active protection system such as the German AMAP-ADS hard-kill APS or a combination of the ROSY smoke discharger and a laser warning receiver that acts like a soft-kill APS.

The Lynx is (in any configuration) powered by an 18 liter 6-cylinder (I6) Liebherr 976 series turbocharged diesel engine producing from 755hp to theoretically 1475hp, depending on the vehicle’s version and tuning (the official numbers are 755hp for KF31 and 1410hp for KF41). It is paired with an automatic transmission (Renk HSWL 256 or Allison X300 series), allowing the Lynx to go as fast as 70 km/h (the maximum off-road speed being roughly 42 km/h).

And, finally, there’s the armament. The older KF31 was fitted with a Rheinmetall Lance turret featuring a 30mm or a 35mm autocannon. For the KF41, the turret was upgraded to Lance 2.0. Both had a crew of two, bringing the total crew to three (gunner, commander and driver) with six (KF31) or eight (KF41) more men carried in the back.

Despite it only being four years since its introduction (six if you count the KF31), it can already be said that the Lynx KF41 is a successful design because despite not being formally adopted by any military prior to its export offer, Rheinmetall managed to garner a lot of interest and, more importantly, secure a major contract. 218 KF41 Lynx IFVs were ordered by Hungary in 2020 to replace its obsolete fleet of BMPs as a part of the Zrinyi 2026 re-armament program.

The current model is built around the 2018 prototype, hence its name. The production turret and hull are both different and may appear in Armored Warfare further down the line.

Now, the big question is – we said it was bland in the past, why would we introduce it in addition to the Skyranger? The answer is simple – because we found a way to make it not bland. Here’s how.

In Armored Warfare, the Lynx Prototype will be a Tier 10 Premium Armored Fighting Vehicle.

If you are familiar with the Skyranger, you are already familiar with the basics of the Lynx Prototype AFV. You have a big hull covered with NERA and decent mobility. It’s a durable vehicle despite the fact the Lance 2.0 turret is actually manned – it’ll still offer decent enough protection to withstand basic autocannon fire.

The really interesting parts are the guns. The vehicle will offer two of those, both by Rheinmetall:

• 30mm Mk.30/2 autocannon
• 35mm Wotan 35 autocannon

Both guns will offer two modes of fire – high (with low accuracy) and low (with high accuracy), allowing you to configure the weapons just the way you like them. In addition to the standard advanced APFSDS rounds, the vehicle will have programmable (airburst) HE rounds as its disposal. On the downside, this vehicle will not have an ATGM launcher and will rely on its guns only.

But that’s still not all. The KF41 Lynx Prototype comes with a new infantry type called Assault Squad.

This is a variant of the standard AT squad. It is still armed with the AT4 rocket launchers the AT squad is but its rockets have thermobaric warheads instead of HEAT (an approximation of the AT4CS HE airburst round). This makes them very effective against enemy infantry and lightly armored targets.

The Lynx Prototype will be a powerful IFV especially viable in the recently released Rate of Decay mission where it’ll be able to devastate that pesky hostile infantry with easy. It’ll also come in handy in other Special Operations when dealing with troops stationed on rooftops.

We hope that you’ll enjoy it and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!