Romania Selects Rheinmetall Lynx KF41 for $4 Billion Infantry Vehicle Acquisition

The Romanian Ministry of National Defence has selected Rheinmetall’s Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle to replace the military’s Soviet-era MLI-84 tracked vehicles. The acquisition is estimated at €3.4 billion, equivalent to about $4 billion. A ministry spokesperson stated that the purchase is part of projects to be financed using loans from the European Union’s Security Action For Europe program.

On April 29, the ministry submitted a list of projects, including the vehicle procurement, to the Romanian parliament for approval. The European Union has allocated Romania approximately €16.7 billion in low-cost loans under the program, making it the second-largest recipient after Poland, which received about €44 billion.

Other procurements planned for funding include helicopters, wheeled armored vehicles, air-defense systems, vessels, unmanned systems, personal weapons, and ammunition.

The acquisition will proceed in stages and is scheduled for completion by 2030. According to the spokesperson, 232 vehicles will be financed through the program and produced at Rheinmetall’s facility in Mediaș, Romania. An additional 66 units, bringing the total to 298, will use alternative funding sources.

Rheinmetall acquired a majority stake in Romanian vehicle maker Automecanica Mediaș in 2024. The program will involve participation from Romania’s defense industry in cooperation with Rheinmetall. The spokesperson noted that procurement contracts will include significant involvement of national and European defense operators, with selection processes currently underway at the ministry and government levels.

Romania evaluated several vehicles from competing producers. Options included the CV90 from BAE Systems Hägglunds, the AS21 Redback from Hanwha, and the Ascod from General Dynamics European Land Systems. A committee of ministry officials and representatives from state-owned Romtehnica selected the winner.

In July 2025, Romania initiated the program, stating that after an initial batch produced by the selected manufacturer, the state-dominated defense industry would handle remaining production through technology transfer for assembly, integration, testing, and maintenance.

Romania joins Hungary as a Lynx user on NATO’s eastern flank.

Hungary ordered 218 units in 2020, and Rheinmetall opened a factory in Zalaegerszeg in August 2023 for production. In January 2026, Rheinmetall announced that Germany would fund the delivery of five Lynx vehicles to Ukraine, with plans for future production in Ukraine.

Also in January 2026, the Italian military received four Lynx vehicles as the first part of an order for 1,050 units, in partnership with Leonardo.