Romania to buy 298 Lynx Fighting Vehicles from Rheinmetall

Romania will purchase nearly 300 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles from German defense company Rheinmetall, with part of the production planned to take place on Romanian territory.

The deal was finalized following meetings between Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger and senior Romanian officials, including Minister of Economy Radu Miruță and Minister of Defense Ionuț Moșteanu, Euronews has reported.

Company representatives said that the agreement includes provisions for local manufacturing, marking a new phase in Romanian-German defense cooperation. One Romanian government official involved in the talks said the agreement reflects Romania’s aim to secure both cutting-edge military platforms and domestic industrial benefits.

The initial batch will consist of 298 combat vehicles, with 46 of them to be delivered in variants built on the same chassis. The Lynx system, developed by Rheinmetall, is a family of modular, next-generation armored combat vehicles. Its main configurations include the KF31 and KF41 models.

According to the company, Lynx is designed to serve as a highly mobile, protected, and reconfigurable infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), capable of operating as a command vehicle, reconnaissance platform, or medical evacuation unit depending on the mission module installed. Its modular architecture allows a single base chassis to support a variety of battlefield roles.

The agreement is Rheinmetall’s most ambitious project to date in Romania and includes binding local production commitments. Romanian authorities have confirmed that part of the assembly will be carried out domestically once parliamentary approval is secured for final implementation of the infantry fighting vehicle program.

Rheinmetall already operates in Romania through its facility in Mediaș, which produces and upgrades “special vehicles and trucks for both civil and military markets.” That plant is expected to support the Lynx program as well.

Separately, Rheinmetall has announced plans to build what it describes as “the most modern gunpowder plant in the world” in Victoria, Brașov County. The company stated that the site will receive over €500 million ($580 million) in investment and “will create hundreds of jobs and strengthen the country’s defense industry,” according to its official release.

Romania’s decision to procure the Lynx IFV and partially localize its production aligns with NATO’s wider effort to improve allied ground forces in Europe. The involvement of Rheinmetall—a company increasingly active across NATO’s eastern flank—demonstrates the growing role of European defense industry in complementing U.S.-led initiatives.