The first vehicle in an immense upgrade of Norway’s CV9030 armored vehicle fleet was handed over to our customer yesterday by Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, President of BAE Systems Hägglunds AB.
The new vehicle fleet has significantly enhanced protection, survivability, situational awareness and interoperability, incorporating lessons learned from Norwegian, Swedish and Danish operations in Afghanistan with CV90. The vehicles will run at the latest rubber tracks, combat-proven by Norwegian forces in Afghanistan.
The CV90 Norway project will deliver a completely-digitized flexible fleet of 74 infantry fighting, 21 reconnaissance, 15 command, 16 engineering, 16 multi-role and two driver training vehicles. The multi-role vehicles can fulfill different functions, including mortar carrier and logistics roles. Deliveries of the production vehicles start in January 2015 and continue to 2017.
The roll-out of this pre-series infantry fighting vehicle was attended by Öystein Bö, Secretary of State Norway and Carl von der Esch, State Secretary for Sweden.
Highly cost-effective Norwegian upgrade program
Norway’s existing 103 CV90s, delivered from the mid-1990s, represented the primary export contract for CV90. In June 2012 we received a $750m (£0.5 bn) contract from the Norwegian Government to upgrade the fleet.
As portion of this program, we’re also building greater than one hundred all-new vehicle chassis to take Norway’s CV90 fleet to 144 vehicles in five different configurations, including a variant equipped with a sensor suite for improved surveillance capability.
Tommy said: “The complex but highly cost-effective Norwegian upgrade program is running on time and to budget. Norway’s vehicles often is the most advanced CV90s yet ¬and make the most of greater than four million engineering hours.
“This is good news, not only for Norway, but for all current and prospective CV90 customers. That’s because our continuous development work on quite a lot of existing variants helps be sure that we will be able to keep all users’ vehicles on the forefront of technology on the lowest possible cost and risk.”
World’s most advanced armored combat vehicle
Colonel Ragnar Wennevik, program director for the Norwegian Defense force commented: “With the hot CV90, we’re buying the world’s most advanced armored combat vehicle family. Already proven in combat, we’re now taking it to a higher generation with state-of-the-art survivability, lethality, digitization and mobility.”
Norwegian industry is playing a main role. One partner is Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, which leads a team of Thales Norway and Vinghøg. The Kongsberg team is answerable for the integrated data and knowledge system, including integration of weapon systems, sensors, communication and security systems. The Kongsberg Protector remote weapon station would be suited for all variants of the vehicle.
Joint Nordic military training
The Swedish-built CV90 was selected by the Nordic nations Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland, plus Switzerland and The Netherlands. The primary CV90 was dropped at Sweden in 1993 and the Norwegian program takes the variety of vehicles ordered to greater than 1200.
In January, Sweden announced that it will refurbish its fleet of CV90s in a program which may last as long as ten years. The most recent Armadillo variant also is a candidate for a Danish requirement for greater than 200 armored personnel carriers. This Danish requirement covers six variants: Infantry, Command Post, Repair, Ambulance, Mortar and Engineer.
“CV90’s use by the Nordic nations means it truly is ideal for supporting cooperation between their militia,” says Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, President BAE Systems Hägglunds AB.
“Operationally, as an example, there’s potential for joint Nordic defense force training at the vehicle. Our customers already collaborate on CV90 vehicle developments similar to the rubber band tracks successfully trialed in Afghanistan, and there can be pooling between CV90 customers for future vehicle support arrangements.”
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