BAE Systems Introduces New Upgraded CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle

BAE Systems presented the next phase of development for the CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), today at the International Armoured Vehicles Conference in London.

According to company press release, the British firm is intending to offer the newly launched CV90 MkIV Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) to the Czech Republic in the ongoing $2 billion armoured vehicle competition to replace old fleet of BVP-2, a Soviet-made BMP-2 tracked IFV.

This fifth generation of the company’s combat-proven IFV family represents the next step for the CV90 concept.

“We are proud and excited to present the next step in the development of CV90,” said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, vice president and general manager for BAE Systems’ Hägglunds business. “The MkIV will now be available to both current and future users of the CV90, who can take full advantage of this combat-proven vehicle’s ongoing development and benefit from these new capabilities. This approach provides the leading combination of a proven low-risk solution for the most modern IFV for future growth.”

The new MkIV offers substantial capability upgrades, including increased drive train capabilities and active damping technology to improve battlefield speeds and handling. The new vehicle also features the latest NATO-standard Electronic Architecture to meet customer demands for sensor integration and the implementation of autonomous systems.

The CV90 IFV is a modern, adaptable, and combat-proven vehicle with 1,280 vehicles in 15 variants sold to seven nations, including four NATO allies.

The CV90 MkIV includes a new Scania engine with up to 1,000 horsepower and the latest upgraded X300 heavy-duty transmission. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is increased from 35 tonnes to 37 tonnes, meaning users will benefit from two tonnes of extra payload without a decrease in vehicle agility, with the same level of protection. This gives any users an unrivalled amount of potential for future growth. 

The MkIV capability upgrades also enable the full implementation of BAE Systems’ iFighting concept. iFighting — or intelligent fighting — is the company’s vision for the future complex battlefield. iFighting supports the vehicle’s crew with significantly enhanced situational awareness, aiding the decision making process. This safeguards the vigilance and the endurance of the crew, while ensuring peak performance for the whole system. iFighting achieves improved ergonomics, more advanced autonomous support, augmented reality, and the possibility of remote operation.

The CV90 is currently in use in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and The Netherlands.