Lynx Infantry Fighting Vehicle: German defence company Rheinmetall, the largest supplier of military vehicles to the Australian Defence Force, has successfully completed demonstration trials of the Soucy Composite Rubber Track (CRT) system on the Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV).
Rheinmetall’s Managing Director Gary Stewart said the CRT demonstration confirmed the Lynx IFV was capable of utilising both steel and composite rubber tracks.
“The vehicle was reconfigured from its base steel track system to the CRT, successfully demonstrating vehicle operation on the CRT system and then returned to the base Steel Track configuration with great success,” Steward said in a statement sent to Defence Star.
He said the Rheinmetall Lynx IFV has the modularity and flexibility to be operated with both types of track systems, allowing armies to configure the vehicle to meet the operational need. “This ensures the Lynx IFV can support the benefits of either system.”
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The Rheinmetall executive said flexibility was key to match vehicle capability to the required threat environment in future battle field and Lynx with its design for modularity was able to be configured to meet that emergent environment.
According to the company, the flexibility of incorporating CRT as a track option on Lynx increased the vehicles’ ability to meet a dynamic threat environment.
Rheinmetall’s Lynx IFV with Soucy’s rubber track.
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The German defence company said with the flexibility of the CRT fitted to the Lynx, the platform can be configured for a lighter all up weight (due to weight saving in track) to allow easier air transportation and to potentially reduce overall running costs through the service life of the vehicles.
Gary Stewart said both track systems have their advantages and while it is for the end user to determine whether a Steel or Composite Rubber track is most appropriate, the flexibility of the Lynx design to be configured with either provides the greatest flexibility to defence.
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