The multinational procurement effort includes Norway, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Together, the six nations aim to enhance interoperability and reduce costs by acquiring the same type of combat vehicle.
“This is an important first step towards a joint procurement that will strengthen our operational capability and provide several other advantages,” said Norwegian Minister of Defence Tore O. Sandvik. “By acquiring the same type of vehicles together, we can lower purchase costs and get more defence for our money.”
The CV90 vehicles are manufactured by Swedish company BAE Systems Hägglunds AB and are armoured to protect personnel from gunfire and explosions. Norway currently operates a fleet of 164 CV90s, which can be adapted for roles such as troop transport, combat support, and ambulance missions.
Participating countries have agreed on common technical specifications and requirements for the new vehicles to enable standardisation across their forces. This includes using the same type of cannon and ammunition on all new units.
According to Sandvik, this alignment is strategically significant. “The war in Ukraine has shown how challenging it can be to use and maintain many different types of weapon systems, ammunition, and other military equipment donated by allied countries,” he said. “That is why there are now discussions within NATO on how we can procure more uniform materiel. This procurement project is a good example of that.”
Source: Norwegian Ministry of Defence.
