BAE Systems has signed a follow-on contract worth $90 million with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) for two new Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) variants, which are being added to the Swedish CV90 RENO upgrade programme.
The vehicles will be delivered by BAE Systems’ Swedish joint venture
HB Utveckling AB, which brings together BAE Systems Hägglunds and Bofors manufacturing capabilities. The new variants are the Forward Maintenance vehicle, which will provide critical frontline support, repair, and recovery for other vehicles, ensuring improved overall combat vehicle availability; and the Combat Engineer variant, which will significantly grow the ability to ensure route clearance and deny enemy forces mission-critical mobility. These new vehicles will join the Swedish Army’s mechanised formations with deliveries scheduled between 2023 and 2027.
Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems Hägglunds, said: “We are proud to be producing these two new CV90 variants for the Swedish Army. The collaborative approach involved in the Swedish CV90 RENO programme has been recognised as a key success factor in achieving a timely, balanced, and cost-effective solution to meet the customer’s capability requirements. We look forward to supporting our Swedish customer in increasing their combat efficiency.”
The two new CV90 variants will be produced at BAE Systems Hägglunds’ facility in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden and by Ritek in Levanger, Norway. Ritek is one of BAE Systems Hägglunds’ key industrial partners in the Norwegian CV90 programme. Ritek’s role in this Swedish programme is a significant milestone, moving Ritek into the international CV90 supply chain.
Peter Sedin, BAE Systems Hägglunds’ director of operations, said: “Ritek has demonstrated that it has the industrial capability and skills required for such a programme. As our production partner for a similar Norwegian Army programme, it made sense to turn to Ritek when we were looking for the optimal industrial set up for this important FMV contract.”
There are approximately 1,300 CV90s in service with Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The vehicle has a combat-proven track record and is designed to accommodate future growth to meet evolving missions. More recently, both Slovakia and the Czech Republic have selected the CV90 to replace their legacy infantry fighting vehicle fleets.
The CV90 will now be available in 17 variants and is designed to provide optimum mobility, with the highest level of protection in any terrain or tactical environment. The CV90 MkIV combines improved battlefield speeds and handling with an upgraded electronic architecture to support future growth capabilities as battlefield requirements evolve.