The CV90 in 2025

It is a little over 20 years since the venerable CV90 first entered service with Sweden and the war in Ukraine has given the type a considerable boost with multiple new orders in the past three years meaning that BAE Hägglunds had at least 450 new-build vehicles on its books by June 2024. That number looks set to rise with Lithuania’s recent announcement of plans to buy two battalion’s worth of vehicles, and the joint procurement between Sweden and Denmark adding 165 new vehicles to the tally. There is also the possibility that Finland will announce a new purchase; a recent press release from the Lithuanian MoD on its negotiations with Hägglunds from the 18th December states: 

“Lithuania will participate in the infantry fighting vehicle acquisition program together with Finland, Sweden  and Norway. The industrial cooperation model and conditions will have to be acceptable to all program participants, therefore negotiations are planned to be completed by the end of 2025.” 

Officials told reporters from Breaking Defense in October 2024 that Finland was planning a joint procurement with Denmark, Norway, and Sweden for a future infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to eventually replace the CV90, although nothing was said about what vehicles they were considering. So, there is nothing firm to indicate that Finland will buy additional CV90s, however, the country’s armed forces were still operating 110 BMP-2s in 2023. The BMP-2 carries less protection than a CV90 and provides much more cramped conditions for the infantry in the rear, so there may be a requirement to replace those vehicles in Finnish service. Finland also operates a fleet of 102 CV9030s, which was to be given a mid-life extension under a $32 million contract signed in 2021 that was designed to improve the maintainability of the fleet and lay the groundwork for a more extensive upgrade at a later date. 

If Finland does buy new vehicles, it will join Czechia, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, and Ukraine in the countries awaiting new build CV90s. Not to mention the various upgrade programmes that are underway such as the Dutch MLU, which in many ways has set the standard for new-build CV90s. 

CV90 orderbook 

Orders for the CV90 have come thick and fast after 2022, which has helped reverse a troubled period where the vehicle struggled on the export market. Losing out to the Redback from South Korea in Australia’s procurement, for instance. 

Czechia 

Czechia placed a landmark order for 246 CV90Czs in May 2023 valued at $2.2 billion (approx €2.3 bn). 40% of the contract value was expected to be delivered by the Czech domestic industry, marking a significant boost for the country’s ability to produce its own equipment. The CV90s are to replace the BVP-2, which is a Czech analogue of the BMP-2, lacking protection and lethality as well as relying on an aged and obsolescent supply chain for support. The country cooperated with Slovakia in its procurement and also signed a memorandum of intent with Slovakia and Ukraine to cooperate on the procurement and operation of CV90s in June 2023. Delivery of the first vehicles is expected in 2027 to the 7th Mechanized Brigade. 

The CV90Cz is based on the D-series turret that makes up the Dutch MLU and is expected to carry a 30 mm cannon. The first prototype turret was produced in June 2024 with steel for the hull expected to be cut the following September, all with input from Czech soldiers throughout the process. The sights and fire control system are to be supplied by Saab under a contract signed in October 2023. The contract includes a license to produce the vehicles in Czechia for future orders. 

Denmark

Denmark ordered 115 CV9035 Mk IIIC standard from BAE in December in a joint procurement with Sweden that included 40 vehicles for Ukraine. The total contract was valued at €2.5 billion including 50 vehicles for Sweden with delivery anticipated some time before 2030 to equip Denmark’s new armoured brigade. The new vehicles will be built to essentially the same standard as the Dutch MLU and bring Denmark’s total CV90 fleet up to 159 vehicles. 

Lithuania

Lithuania has initiated the procurement of two battalion’s worth of CV90s to act as the mechanised infantry counter-parts to a battalion of Leopard 2s that it has ordered. The total quantity is unclear but may be as many as 100 vehicles indicating an approximate cost of €1.3 billion depending on the variant mix and build standard. Negotiations are set to conclude by the end of 2025 and may depend, as noted in the opening section of this report, on a joint procurement with Finland, Sweden, and Norway. 

The Netherlands

The Netherlands contracted BAE to conduct an extensive mid-life upgrade (MLU) for 128 of its CV9035NLs (including six driver training vehicles) in 2021 with delivery to start in 2024 and conclude in 2026. The contract was valued at more than €660 million and included the addition of Elbit’s Iron Fist Light Decoupled active protection system to 90 vehicles as well as Rafael’s Spike anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) to the turrets of the vehicles and all were fitted with composite rubber tracks to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle and compensate for the 500 kg of extra weight added by the new turret. The first upgraded vehicle was delivered in June 2024 and BAE is cooperating with Dutch firm Van Halteren Technologies for domestic production of at least part of the vehicles.

In June 2024, the Dutch MoD also ordered 15 of the 120 mm Mjölner vehicles for delivery by 2028. The vehicles carry a new turret armed with two 120 mm mortars to replace the current solution, which is an 81 mm mortar that is carried by a Fennek reconnaissance vehicle and dismounted for operation. They will be based on mothballed hulls from the country’s logistic reserve brought up to the MLU standard. It is worth noting that Russia has proven relatively successful at hunting down and engaging Ukrainian mortar teams, which puts pressure on battalion level fire support. Making those systems more mobile and better protected will increase survivability noticeably. 

Slovakia

Slovakia cooperated with Czechia in its CV90 procurement, ultimately selecting the CV90 Mk IV in June 2022. A total of 152 vehicles were ordered in a €1.3 billion deal that was designed to replace the BVP-2s operated by Slovakia. The project has a total budget of €1.68 billion to include infrastructure costs and procurement, and the prime contractor on the Slovak side is the state-owned ZTS – ŠPECIÁL. 

The Slovak vehicles will be built to BAE’s Mk IV standard equipped with the D-series turret from the Dutch upgrade and the 35 mm Bushmaster cannon. The vehicles will include the Iron Fist Light Decoupled and Spike ATGMs and sensors augmented with artificial intelligence, according to BAE. 122 of the vehicles will be IFVs, with 12 of them built to a special configuration to carry anti-material rifle and grenade launcher squads. The remaining 30 vehicles will be in the command and control, reconnaissance, and recovery/engineering configuration. The date for delivery is not clear from the available sources. 

Sweden

As noted above, Sweden ordered 50 new CV9035 Mk IIICs in concert with Denmark in December 2024 to replace the vehicles it had donated to Ukraine. The Swedish fleet stood at 499 vehicles prior to the donation to Ukraine at various standards and levels of readiness. In 2023, the Swedes issued a €30 million contract modification to the BAE Systems Swedish joint venture HB Utveckling AB, which combines BAE Systems’ Hägglunds and Bofors manufacturing capabilities for 20 additional Mjölner vehicles. This modification brought the total number of Mjölners on order up to 80; 40 were ordered under the first contract in 2016 and delivered by 2020, with another 20 ordered in 2022. Delivery for the additional 20 vehicles is expected by the end of 2025. 

Ukraine 

Ukraine received 50 CV9040s from Sweden, which it has put to good use in fighting Russian forces. In 2024, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden decided to collaborate to fund the production of new-build CV90s for Ukraine. Some of the vehicles are expected to come from the Dutch production line in 2026, but a contract placed by Denmark and Sweden for joint procurement in December 2024 is understood to include 40 CV90s for Ukraine, according to hartpunkt. The project has received around €400 million in funding from the Netherlands, as well as approximately €263 million from Sweden and Denmark for a total of €663 million. While everything about the cost of an IFV depends upon the quantity ordered and agreed price with the manufacturer, this level of funding indicates that there may only be funding for around 70 CV90s under this initiative. 

Wrapping up

This overview indicates that BAE may have as many as 738 CV90s to produce or oversee the production of, most by 2030 and in several different variants. This is not to mention the order alluded to by the Lithuanian MoD, as well as opportunities identified by BAE in June 2023, which included an MLU for the 44 existing Danish vehicles, as well as the potential for additional Slovakian vehicles, and bids in Italy, Brazil and Romania. Even without those, BAE will have its work cut out delivering so many different projects simultaneously. The company has invested over €200 million in its production facilities with another €300 million anticipated, Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems Hägglunds, told an audience at Eurosatory in 2024. The company also relies on local partnerships to scale its production and facilitate its growth, making the work with companies like ZTS – ŠPECIÁL in Slovakia, and Van Halteren Technologies in the Netherlands absolutely essential. In all, 2024 has been a promising year for the CV90 and it looks like there is room for further growth in the year to come. 

Its success is not without reason, the CV90 is the most mature modern IFV available to European customers with over 1,400 vehicles in service. It has been in use since 1994 and deployed operationally to Afghanistan and Ukraine. The user club also provides commonality and benefits across the fleet – best shown by the turret from the Dutch MLU essentially becoming the production standard. Furthermore, the alignment around what is essentially a common standard for new orders – the CV9035 Mk IIIC – means that BAE is not having to produce a lot of different vehicles to different user specifications, this will improve production times. It should also be encouraging to see the extent of European orders for the vehicle, which was designed specifically to counter Russian invasions.

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 6th January 2025.