One of the most controversial topics of recent times was the contract of the Russian Ministry of Defense with the Italian company Iveco, according to which Iveco LMV armored vehicles were to appear in our armed forces. The armored cars entered service under the new name "Lynx" and dispersed to combat units. However, the signing of the contract did not put an end to numerous disputes. This agreement still has many opponents and the latest news may please them.
The other day, the Rosinformburo news agency, citing an unnamed source in the defense industry, told about the further fate of the Italian-Russian armored vehicles. According to this source, a few days ago the order of the Minister of Defense was canceled, according to which the Lynx vehicles were put into service. Thus, the Russian military department abandoned a promising and necessary, as it was claimed at one time, armored car. The source of Rosinformburo did not specify the reasons for this decision, nor did it name the further fate of the purchased and built machines. It should be noted that the Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the news. Combined with the anonymity of the source, this raises certain questions.
Nevertheless, despite all possible questions, information about the abandonment of the "Lynx" may look plausible, since a few months ago the command of the ground forces told about their plans for the further operation of armored cars of joint Italian-Russian production. In January, the commander-in-chief of the ground forces, Colonel-General V. Chirkin, announced that the Ministry of Defense would fulfill all its obligations under the existing contract and purchase the 1775 LMV / Lynx armored cars it envisaged. However, after the completion of deliveries, the contract will not be extended and the purchase of additional 1,200 vehicles will not take place. As a basis for refusing an additional contract, Chirkin cited some characteristics of the armored car, which turned out to be insufficient for operation in the Russian armed forces.
It is also worth remembering that, speaking about the characteristics of the "Lynx", the commander-in-chief of the ground forces mentioned the ongoing development of a new domestic armored car, which will be devoid of these shortcomings. It is possible that the project, whose name was not mentioned, became one of the main reasons for the current decision of the Ministry of Defense. If, of course, the source of Rosinformburo turned out to be right and the LMV / Lynx armored car will indeed be removed from service.
The story of Italian armored cars for the Russian army began in 2009 and immediately became a subject of discussion. Over the course of several months, Rostekhnologii purchased several ready-made vehicles and assembly kits that were used for testing at Russian proving grounds. The test results were deemed satisfactory, and in June 2010 the then Minister of Defense A. Serdyukov signed an order, allegedly canceled now, according to which the Italian armored car was put into service. The next year, 2011, Russia and Italy agreed to jointly produce vehicles for our armed forces at an enterprise in Voronezh. Throughout all the stages of testing and negotiations, various figures appeared in the statements of the parties, but in the end the Russian Ministry of Defense decided on its needs. According to the contract with the Italian company Iveco, it was required to deliver 1,775 armored cars. About 1200 more could be ordered in the future.
To date, the Russian armed forces have received less than a hundred armored cars "Lynx". Earlier it was said that in the coming years the military will receive the first large series of 358 vehicles and in the future their construction will follow the same principle. However, in the light of recent reports, the production of not only 1775 ordered armored vehicles, but also the first series of three and a half hundred is in question.
If the information about the removal from service of armored cars "Lynx" is confirmed, then this fact can be considered confirmation of the popular version of the use of Italian technology as a temporary measure to equip the ground forces in anticipation of their own similar projects. It is worth noting that cooperation with Italian manufacturers spurred Russian ones. So, in the near future, several new armored cars of domestic design should be tested at once, not inferior to Iveco LMV / "Lynx" in the level of protection. However, it will take time to fine-tune the new machines and launch their serial production, and the Lynx is already there.
One way or another, information about the abandonment of Italian armored cars collected in Russia has not yet been confirmed by official sources. Therefore, it may well turn out that we are now dealing with a banal newspaper duck or another "round" of undercover games, the purpose of which is contracts for the supply of equipment.
