The Czech Republic has completed negotiations with the government of Sweden, the Swedish defence procurement organisation FMV, and
BAE Systems Hägglunds to buy 246 CV90 MkIV infantry fighting vehicles in seven different variants. The contract is valued at SEK 22 billion ($2.2 billion).
Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems Hägglunds, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, said: “As the ninth member of the CV90 User Group, the Czech Republic and its army will benefit from this combat-proven infantry fighting vehicle with a leading combination of mobility, firepower, protection, and future growth potential. This contract also represents a significant win for Czech industry that will last for decades.”
The CV90s will be developed and delivered through an industrial partnership with Czech industry that will see Czech industrial partners deliver some 40% of the acquisition’s value in development, production, and assembly contracts (not including VAT). The programme also offers ‘future industrial opportunities that represent significant monetary value well beyond the flow down of contracts to Czech industrial partners’. The contract will bolster the local defence sector, granting access to BAE Systems’ global supply chain, ‘expanding opportunities for cooperation, and enhancing local competitiveness’.
BAE Systems Hägglunds has produced more than 1,400 CV90s in 17 variants for European countries, five of which are NATO members. Slovakia recently selected the CV90 for its armed forces, joining the Czech Republic as the eighth and ninth member countries, respectively, of the CV90 User Group.