The latest-generation CV90, a multi-role vehicle, features a wide range of enhancements from earlier models

ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, Sweden -- BAE Systems will upgrade and build CV90 armoured combat vehicles for the Norwegian Army under a contract worth approximately £500 million ($750 million) awarded by the Norwegian Government.

The company will upgrade Norway’s existing 103-vehicle CV9030 fleet, delivered from the mid-1990s, and build new vehicle chassis to deliver 144 CV90s in different configurations, including a variant equipped with a sensor suite for improved surveillance capability.

“We have had a long and excellent experience with CV90, and have built up considerable expertise about the system, which we have chosen to further develop together with our supplier in Sweden,” said Petter Jansen, managing director at the Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation. “This is one of the largest Army investments and an important part of the Norwegian Army modernization plan.”

The project will deliver 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.

“Today’s order illustrates the trust there is in Norway for the CV90 family of vehicles,” said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, president of BAE Systems Hagglunds. “We continue to invest in the CV90 system and develop the vehicle to keep it at the forefront of technology and in particular, to incorporate improvements in protection and digitization so that it remains the world’s most advanced vehicle of its kind.”

Incorporating lessons learned from Norwegian operations in Afghanistan, the new vehicle fleet will have significantly enhanced protection, survivability, situational awareness, intelligence and interoperability.

Norwegian industry will play a major role. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace leads a team of Thales Norway and Vinghøg. The Kongsberg team is responsible for the integrated data and information system, including integration of weapon systems, sensors, communication and security systems. The Kongsberg Protector remote weapon station will be fitted to all variants of the vehicle.

The Swedish CV90 has been selected by the Nordic nations (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland), Switzerland and The Netherlands. The first CV90 was delivered to Sweden in 1993, and this programme will increase the number of vehicles ordered to more than 1,200.