Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability 2022: Production of Dutch CV90s with new turret to begin in December

The first of four upgraded Dutch CV90s with a redesigned turret left the BSH plant in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, on 26 September. (Dutch MoD)

Production of Dutch CV90 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with a new turret will begin in December, it was revealed at SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability 2022 active protection system (APS) Focus Day held in London on 15 November. Tarkan Turkan, CV90 platform director at BAE Systems Hägglunds (BSH), said at the event that production would be launched in parallel with trials of the IFV.

The first-of-type (FOT) upgraded Dutch CV90 IFV left the BSH plant in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, on 26 September. Turkan said another FOT vehicle had been built since and that two more were under construction. Delivery of the first FOT vehicle was followed by the launch of trials, leading up to the test readiness review and ending with a final design review in December 2023.

The first delivery of the upgraded CV9035NL is scheduled for January 2024, according to Turkan. Production and the project itself are to be completed in 2026.

Turkan reported further qualification of the CV9035NL's Iron Fist APS, which is being combined with a laser warning system. He added that the Royal Netherlands Army was learning and training with the IFV's 35 mm kinetic energy time fuze round.

Turkan identified among the challenges the late start of training, with a shortage of CV90s for units as they are upgraded so they can be delivered on time. Production is beginning at a rate of one year per vehicle, ramping up to seven months, according to Turkan.