BELFAST — The Nordic nations of Denmark and Sweden have signed a 25 billion SEK ($2.5 billion) joint procurement contract with BAE Systems for the acquisition of 205 new Combat Vehicle 90 — CV9035 MKIIIC — Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs).
Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) inked the deal today with BAE Systems Hagglunds, the CV90 manufacturer.
Denmark will receive the majority of vehicles — 115 in all. Sweden will acquire 50 to replace vehicles supplied to Ukraine, while the remaining 40 units are bound for Kyiv “and financed through previous donations from Denmark and Sweden,” said the Swedish Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a statement.
“These investments will enable more Swedish combat vehicles to make Europe — and particularly Ukraine — safer,” added Pål Jonson, Sweden’s Minister of Defence. “The Swedish defence industry is a unique and strong asset to our national and collective defence capabilities.”
In a supporting statement from BAE Systems, Chief of the Royal Danish Army Maj. Gen. Peter Boysen said, “The infantry fighting vehicle is an essential component of the heavy brigade we are currently building. The 115 new vehicles will significantly enhance Denmark’s contribution to collective security and international operations.”
Boysen added that with “44 existing vehicles, we will have a total of 159 vehicles, providing us with substantial strength.”
Data overload threatens decisionmakers as autonomy expands
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
Stockholm also noted that the CV90 has proven “highly valued” in Ukraine, highlighting the platform’s “high level” of protection and frontline success, including saving “soldiers’ lives in direct hits.”
At a capability level, the new CV9035 MKIIC is fitted with “the latest turret solution and gives its crew improved situational awareness and increased mobility, protection and effectiveness against enemy targets,” added the Swedish MoD.
The new turret will be built to the same standard as that under development for the Netherlands as part of its CV90 mid-life upgrade program, according to BAE Systems.
In Sweden’s case, the latest order builds off a prior contract signed between FMV and BAE Systems in May for new CV9035 MkIIIC vehicles and integrated logistic support.
In October, Breaking Defense first reported that Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden had entered talks to evaluate joint procurement of a future IFV. Should discussions progress as anticipated, the new platform could be acquired in the 2030 to 2040 timeframe.
Each nation currently fields the CV90 and, at the time, Commander of the Swedish Army Maj. Gen. Jonny Lindfors told Breaking Defense it would be a “natural development to buy more of them,” although other systems are under consideration.
Across 17 different variants, 1,900 CV90 vehicles have been ordered to date and it has been selected by 10 European nations, according to BAE Systems. Alongside operations in Ukraine, it has previously been deployed in Afghanistan and Liberia.