MUNICH — Estonia is pushing to “step into the supply line” to directly produce parts for a joint European CV90 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) program, as negotiations evolve with manufacturer BAE Systems Hägglunds, Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur told Breaking Defense.
“First and foremost: How much [BAE Systems] Hägglunds is ready to give out the transfer [of] technology, and are they ready to negotiate [so] that we will build … something in Estonia?” he said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference over the weekend. “We are ready to step into the supply line … to fill some of the gaps that Hägglunds has.”
Estonia is one of six European nations that last year signed a statement of intent exploring a joint purchase of hundreds of CV90s. Finland, a co-signer, said the order for Helsinki alone would be “on the order of billions of euros.” The other countries involved are Sweden, Norway, Lithuania and The Netherlands.
But the details of the production and delivery plan are still being worked out — with local considerations also at play.
Pevkur argued that “many” companies in Estonia could readily join the CV90 supply chain and contribute to production of commander cameras, wiring or welding, dependent on what the “final version” of the Mk IV design will look like. His comments indicate that the European nations have still to decide on a mutually agreeable standardization of the platform. Tallinn currently operates the Mk III iteration.
A spokesperson for BAE Systems Hägglunds told Breaking Defense the company is “in the conversation with all countries involved and prefer to not step in to any details about what, when to who etc. We will clarify this in due time.”
Per BAE company literature, the current Mk IV variant is integrated with a new engine and boasts a gross weight rating of 38 metric tons (about 42 US tons). It is also set to become the first Western IFV to be fitted with a qualified active protection system.
Peter Nygren, director of business development at BAE Systems Hägglunds, said last year that considerations linked to a common Mk IV design include how to “harmonize” requirements so one contract for the joint nations can be agreed.
Pevkur said Estonia is also pushing for vehicle deliveries to Tallin by the end of 2030, though he made clear that date doesn’t line up with Hägglunds’ expectations and is also currently under negotiation. “Our wish is to speed up production” based on assessing additional industrial “opportunities,” he stressed. “I hope that the decisions will be made before summer.”
Important in the Estonian case, deliveries must “be done,” said Pevkur, in line with the 2030 timeline because the Baltic nation is funding the acquisition through a European Union (EU) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan.
The €150 billion ($177 billion) SAFE initiative requires involvement of “at least two participating countries” to secure joint procurement loans and sits at the heart of Europe’s drive toward strategic autonomy, rearmament at pace and less reliance on US weapons.
Tallinn could order “10 percent” of the total number of CV90s eventually agreed between the European nations, said Pevkur. The deal is set to be the largest ever recorded by BAE Systems Hägglunds, once finalized.
In December, Lithuania committed to acquiring 100 of the vehicles under the joint procurement. It added in a statement at the time that in-country deliveries and those for “other programme participants” are planned for 2028.
Separate from the joint European acquisition, a first CV90 Mk IV vehicle roll out ceremony under Slovakia’s $1.4 billion procurement is set to take place this Friday at BAE Systems Hägglunds production site in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, according to the Swedish Ministry of Defence. Bratislava has ordered 152 of the type.