Saab seeks customers for new combat boat

A Swedish Navy CB90 Next Generation. (Saab Kockums)

Saab has modernised its Combat Boat 90 (CB90) amphibious craft for new missions and is looking to sell it abroad. The original CB90 design dates from the early 1990s and was intended for amphibious operations in the Swedish archipelago. It also saw export success, including orders from Greece, Malaysia, Norway, and Mexico, Jörgen Olsson, the CB90 programme director for Saab Kockums, told journalists in Karlskrona in southern Sweden on 14 May.

The CB90 Next Generation (NG), or CB90 HSM in Swedish Navy service, dates from 2017, when the navy ordered an initial batch of 18 boats. The new craft is the same size as the original CB90 but features new capabilities for combat at sea, Olsson said. The CB90 NG is equipped with a new combat management system and the Saab Trackfire remote weapon station (RWS). The RWS provides additional sensors for greater situational awareness. Swedish systems are armed with a 12.7 mm and a 7.62 mm machine gun. The controls are located below deck at the aft of the crew compartment. Other weapon fits have been tested, including Hellfire missile launchers and an unmanned mortar system. The testing determined that the CB90 NG is too small to effectively mount the mortar, according to Olsson.

Saab's Barracuda camouflage system, designed for the Swedish archipelago, is incorporated. The boat can be fully or partly covered based on requirements, he said.