Team Lynx Enters Phase 2 Digital Design
The US Army has down-selected a team led by American Rheinmetall Vehicles (ARV) for the Phase 2 Digital Design of the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme. ARV’s partners in its Team Lynx effort include Raytheon Technologies, L3Harris Technologies, Textron Systems and Allison Transmission.
OMFV is a modernisation effort to replace nearly 3,800 BRADLEYs in the US Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT). “This is a great win for American Rheinmetall Vehicles and Team Lynx as a whole,” commented Matt Warnick, Managing Director at ARV. “With this contract award, we take another important step forward in bringing the kind of next-generation technology solution, partnership and industrial capability the US Army deserves and that Team Lynx is so well prepared to deliver for the OMFV program.”
The team will work with the army on the digitally-engineered design and development of its OMFV concept, using Rheinmetall’s proven LYNX KF41 IFV as the point of departure for the design. The solution will provide the army with a next-generation IFV, featuring a game-changing platform with a modular open systems architecture. This will enable rapid insertion of new capabilities as they become available, guaranteeing overmatch today and tomorrow.
Variants of the LYNC IFV are advancing in several countries: Hungary became the launch customer in 2020 with an order for 218 locally-produced vehicles; in Australia, Rheinmetall was down-selected for an extensive risk reduction test phase, in which it performed to a high standard.
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,’ next-generation vehicle. The team will grow US defensce manufacturing capacity and introduce advanced manufacturing capabilities. 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.
