LYNX Into Next OMFV Phase

The US Army has awarded Rheinmetall’s US subsidiary American Rheinmetall Vehicles a development contract for the Phase 2 Digital Design of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme, according to a press release by the company. American Rheinmetall Vehicles will execute Phase 2 with its Team LYNX teammates including:

• Raytheon Technologies
• L3Harris Technologies
• Textron Systems
• Allison Transmission

The OMFV programme is a modernisation effort to replace nearly 3,800 BRADLEY IFVs.

Team LYNX will work with the US Army on the digitally engineered design and development of the team’s OMFV concept based on Rheinmetall’s LYNX KF41 IFV. The vehicle’s modular open system architecture allows for the insertion of new capabilities as they become available.

Variants of American Rheinmetall Vehicle’s LYNX KF41 IFV are subject to consideration in several countries. The Hungarian Army became the launch customer in 2020 with an order for 218 locally produced vehicles. In Australia, for the LAND400 Phase 3 programme, Rheinmetall has been downselected along with Hanwha Defense as the other contender for a risk reduction test phase that involves extensive vehicle testing comprised of field trials, survivability and mobility testing.

The Digital Design Phase kicks off the OMFV programme and continues through early 2023, laying the foundation for future development and production phases. Team LYNX is developing industrialisation plans to fully deliver the OMFV as a Made in the USA vehicle.  Competition for Phase 3 (Detailed Design) is anticipated to start in 2023, followed by Phase 4 (prototype build and test), which results in government testing in early 2026.

Juergen Hensel