Combat Vehicle 90
The Combat Vehicle 90 is a family of Swedish tracked armoured combat vehicles designed by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, Hägglund & Söner and Bofors during the mid-1980s to early 1990s, before entering service in Sweden in the mid-1990s. The CV90 platform design has continuously evolved from the Mk 0 to the current Mk IV with technological advances and changing battlefield requirements.
The Swedish version of the main infantry fighting vehicle is fitted with a turret from Bofors equipped with a 40 mm Bofors autocannon. Export versions are fitted with Hägglunds E-series turrets, armed with either a 30 mm Mk44 or a 35 mm Bushmaster autocannon. Over time, the involvement of Hägglund & Söner has been superseded by Alvis Hägglunds and BAE Systems Hägglunds.
Developed specifically for the Nordic subarctic climate, the vehicle has very good mobility in snow and wetlands while carrying and supporting eight, and in later versions six, fully equipped soldiers. Other variants include forward artillery observation, command and control, anti-aircraft, armoured recovery vehicle, electronic warfare versions and so forth. Currently, 1,400 vehicles in 17 variants are in service with ten user states, seven of which are part of the NATO alliance.
History
During the Cold War, in 1983, the Swedish Army required vehicles with high mobility, air defence and anti-tank capability, high survivability and protection. In 1985, the "stridsfordon 90" project group, made up of representatives from the Swedish Armed Forces, the FMV and Swedish industry, finalized the design for a "unity vehicle" that originated from an air force concept. In 1986, the prototypes for strf 9040 and strf 9025 were ordered. Five prototypes were constructed but, before delivery in 1988, the 9025 version was discontinued. The prototypes were tested during extensive trials between 1988 and 1991, during which prototypes for specialized variants were ordered. The first deliveries started in 1994.The CV90 has undergone four mark shifts to meet different customer requirements, focusing on capability enhancements.
CV90 Mk 0
The first CV90 delivered was for Sweden, and was armed with a Bofors 40/70B cannon in a two-man turret, which had beaten out the 25 mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun during initial prototype trials. The Mk 0 has a conventional electrical system and was fitted for but not with appliqué armour systems. The Swedish Army ordered five variants of the CV90. The requirements expressed by the Swedish FMV on signature management were extremely challenging and led to a lot of new design features inherited by all subsequent generations. FMV also prioritized the requirements to provide the best possible design to fulfil user needs. Furthermore, the CV90 was also built for high reliability and ease of maintenance using only standard onboard tools and for conscripts to maintain and operate.CV90 Mk I
The next variant of CV90, known as the Mk I, was delivered to Norway after winning the country's competition for a new IFV against contemporaries such as the American M2 Bradley, British FV510 Warrior, and Austro-Spanish ASCOD. The Mk I variant of the CV90 had a newly designed two-man 30 mm turret, evolved from the 25 mm turret. CV90 Mk I was the first IFV with high-hit probability performance during suppression fire modes, both while the vehicle is on the move and against air targets. The CV90 Mk I incorporated several improvements over the original Swedish CV90. Evaluations of mobility, reliability, lethality, fightability, ergonomics, durability and survivability were performed during the CV90 Mk I trial phase for these vehicles, with good results.CV90 Mk II
The CV90 Mk I was the base for the next development, the CV90 Mk II. The Mk II was produced in three variants: the CV9030 CH IFV and COM, and the CV9030 FIN IFV. Both contracts were won in competition against other IFVs. One significant difference between the two variants was hull size: the Swiss variant is 100 mm higher over the front, with an additional 70 mm over the combat compartment at the rear. Another difference is the Mk II's partial digitization and built-in Health & Unit Monitoring System, along with interactive manuals and instructions. The CV90 Mk II's standard armament is the Mk44 Bushmaster II autocannon.CV90 Mk III
The Mk III variant of the CV90 is a further development of the CV90 Mk II. The areas that underwent the most development were lethality, fightability, electronic architecture, survivability and mobility. The weapon system was upgraded to a 35/50 mm Bushmaster III cannon with an integrated muzzle ammunition programmer and a number of different firing scenarios depending on target setup. The crew station design provides the gunner and commander with a continuous eye-on-target engagement feature.Further electronic architecture upgrades made the Mk III completely digitized. Mobility improvements consisted of upgraded suspension and enhanced power-to-weight ratio to handle the increased gross vehicle weight. Improved survivability mainly came in the areas of mine protection and top attack. Horizontal protection was designed in similar ways to other CV90 variants, i.e. appliqué systems. The first variant of the Mk III, the Mk IIIa, was delivered to the Netherlands and Denmark, and the second, more modern Mk IIIb variant was delivered to Norway.
CV90 Mk IV
The CV90 Mk IV is equipped with a new Scania engine, which develops up to, and the latest upgraded X300 heavy-duty transmission. Its maximum weight was increased from 35 to 37 tonnes, with space for two tonnes of additional payload, without a decrease in vehicle agility. It features a new augmented reality system named. The concept fuses data from different systems within the vehicle to filter and prioritize the most critical information, allowing quicker crew decision-making and improved battlefield performance. The Mk IV generation is also the first Western IFV with a qualified Active Protection System. It is equipped with fourth generation electronic architecture supporting future technology adoption and growth.CV90 Mk V
The Swedish army is supporting the development of an improved variant from between 2023 and 2027. No agreement has yet been concluded between the FMV and the industry on that development. The development goals focus on:- A hybrid electric propulsion system will be proposed and potentially integrated to this version
- The C4ISR system is to be fully digitalized
- Improvement of the heat, radar and visual signature management of the vehicle
- Integrate Beyond Line Of Sight anti-tank guided missiles. Akeron MP is a next generation medium-range, man-portable, anti-tank missile, which has a BLOS capability.
- Integration of UAV.
This variant might be ordered, and it would extend the lifetime of the CV90 in the Swedish Army beyond 2034. An upgrade of the IFV variant including some of these elements is very likely.
Design
Varying customer requirements have led to multiple CV90 variants with major differences in survivability and electronic architecture. Increased protection has led to higher curb weight; the vehicle's combat weight has risen from 23 to 35 tonnes. With increasingly powerful diesel engines, the power-to-weight ratio has remained approximately the same. The track suspension system has seen several successive upgrades.The Mk III version has a digital electronic architecture with several different CAN-buses and digital networks, and is the first IFV incorporating an automatic defensive aide suite which classifies threats and, in automatic mode, can fire smoke and/or the main gun to eliminate or evade targets, as well as instruct the driver on potential threats. At the Eurosatory 2010 exhibition, a version called Armadillo was presented. The Armadillo shown was an armoured personnel carrier version. The basic chassis can be readily converted to ambulance, control vehicle or other turreted versions.
Protection
The CV9040's basic armour provides all-round protection against 14.5 mm armour-piercing rounds. Armour protection over the frontal arc is classified, but all models from CV9040B onwards are said to be protected against 30 mm APFSDS rounds. Some variants, including the CV9030N, can be fitted with MEXAS, a ceramic appliqué armor that provides protection against 30 mm APFSDS. This armour kit is intended to provide increased protection against improvised explosive devices, explosively formed penetrators, and 30 mm caliber armour-piercing rounds. All CV90s are fitted with a spall liner, which covers the interior spaces and provides protection for the troops inside against shrapnel and anti-personnel artillery munitions.The CV90 can also be fitted with cage armour, which provides protection against tandem-charge and shaped charge warheads. The CV90 is fitted with a nuclear, biological, and chemical filtration system accompanied by a chemical detector and radiation detector systems. The CV90 also uses heat-absorbing filters to provide temporary protection against thermal imaging, image intensifiers and infrared cameras. The CV90 was designed with a very low and compact structure to minimize radar and IR signatures.
With every generation of CV90 there has been an increase in payload and corresponding protection levels. The inherent mine protection levels have risen substantially to presently defeat the heaviest anti-tank mines.
In December 2016, BAE Systems received a contract from the Netherlands to test the Israel Military Industries Iron Fist active protection system on their CV9035 vehicles. Iron Fist employs a multi-sensor early warning system using both infrared and radar sensors to deploy soft- and hard-kill countermeasures against anti-tank rockets and missiles. A decision for integration was to be made by early 2018.
In 2011, Hägglunds demonstrated a version with an infrared camouflage called Adaptiv, consisting of thermoelectric plates capable of posing as many different objects, such as ordinary cars, stones, trees etc. to an enemy IR-viewfinder. It takes 1,500 plates to cover a CV90, at a cost of $100 per plate.