Nordic-Baltic region joins forces around Sweden's CV90
The Combat Vehicle 90 will rule the ground across six countries in northern Europe.
The defence ministers of Norway, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden on June 5 signed a declaration of intent to buy the CV90.
"With this, we are taking an important first step towards a joint procurement that will help us increase our operational capability, in addition to a number of other benefits," says Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik.
"By jointly procuring the same type of vehicles, we can reduce procurement costs and get more defence for our money. We will also be able to train and operate even more seamlessly together across national borders, and make it easier to conduct joint maintenance," he explains in a statement.
The CV90 is produced in Sweden by the BAE Systems Hägglunds. It is developed specifically for the Nordic subarctic climate and has a high level of mobility in snow and wetlands. It can carry and support up to eight fully equipped soldiers.
"We designed the CV90 with a clear vision: to create a vehicle that provides high tactical and strategic mobility, air defence, anti-tank capability, high survivability and protection in any terrain or tactical environment," the manufacturer emphasises on its website.
Norway intends to buy about 80 new CV90s. The country's Army from before has 164 of the vehicles.
Sweden has almost 500 of the CV90. Finland - about 100.
"The war in Ukraine has shown how demanding it can be to use and maintain many different types of weapon systems, ammunition and other military equipment donated by allied countries. That's why discussions are now taking place within NATO on how we can procure more similar equipment. This procurement project is a good example of that," says Defence Minister Sandvik.
As reported by the Barents Observer, the Nordic countries have since 2009 worked on streamlining different aspects of the military forces to better cooperate across borders. Cooperation got a serious boost after Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
