Used by See Operators | In service 1993–present | |
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Type Infantry fighting vehicle Wars War in AfghanistanUnited Nations Mission in Liberia | ||
The Stridsfordon 90 (Strf 90; Eng. Combat Vehicle 90, CV90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by FMV, Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. The Swedish version of the main infantry fighting vehicle is fitted with a turret from Bofors that is equipped with a 40 mm autocannon, although export versions use 30 mm and 35 mm autocannons. Developed specifically for the Nordic sub-arctic climate, it has very good mobility in snow and wetlands while carrying and supporting eight (later versions were reduced to six) fully equipped soldiers. Other variants include Forward Observation, Command and Control, Anti-air, Armoured Recovery, Electronic Warfare and so forth. It is still produced and being developed by BAE Systems Hägglunds AB.
Contents
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. The project group "Stridsfordon 90" was formed by representatives from the Swedish armed forces (Försvarsmakten), the Defense Materiel Administration (Försvarets Materielverk) and Swedish industry including Hägglunds and Bofors, which in 1985 finalized the design for a "unity-vehicle" which originated from an airforce 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. These prototypes were tested during extensive trials for three years between 1988 and 1991, during which the prototypes for specialized variants (FOV, C&C and ARV) were ordered. The first deliveries started in 1994, and as of 2002 over 1,000 CV90s have been delivered worldwide.
Design
Various customer requirements have led to several variants of the CV90, where major differences are in survivability and electronic architecture. Higher protection has led to higher kerb weight; the vehicle's combat weight has risen from 23 to 35 tonnes. However, with increasingly more powerful diesel engines, the power-to-weight ratio has remained approximately the same. The track suspension system has seen upgrades in several stages. 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 Aid Suite (DAS), 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. At the Eurosatory 2010 exhibition, a version called Armadillo was presented. The Armadillo shown was an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) version. The basic chassis can be readily converted to ambulance, control vehicle or other turreted versions.
Protection
The basic armour of the CV9040 provides all-round protection against 14.5 mm armour-piercing rounds. Armour protection over the frontal arc is classified, but all models from CV9040B and later are said to be protected against 30 mm APFSDS. 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 device, explosively formed penetrator and 30 mm caliber armour piercing rounds. All CV90s are fitted with a Kevlar Spall suppression liner, which covers the interior spaces and provides protection for the troops inside against shrapnel and anti-personnel artillery munitions.
The CV90 can be also fitted with cage armour, which provides protection against tandem-charge and shaped charge warheads. The CV90 is fitted with a nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) 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 (TIS), image intensifier and infrared camera (IR). The CV 90 was designed to produce a very low and very 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 (10 kg TNT) anti-tank mines.
In December 2016, BAE Systems received a contract from the Netherlands to test the Israel Military Industries (IMI) Iron Fist active protection system on their CV9035 vehicles. Iron Fist employs a multi-sensor early warning system utilizing both infrared and radar sensors to deploy soft- and hard-kill countermeasures against anti-tank rockets and missiles. A decision for integration is to be made by early 2018.
Mobility
The CV90 Mk0 is powered by a DSI14 engine developed by Scania, which provides 550 horse power (HP) and it can reach speeds of 70 kilometres (43 mi) per hour. The basic CV90 has a maximum road range of 320 kilometres (200 mi), but the latest generation can reach up to 600 kilometres (370 mi). The CV90 offers quieter movement for improved stealth, greater speed over good terrain, and higher ground clearance for protection against mines and improvised explosive devices.
BAE Systems is considering upgrading the CV90 with a hybrid-electric propulsion system as armies look to cut fuel expenses, due to environmental issues and fuel economy. A hybrid-electric drive could cut fuel consumption by 10 to 30 percent. The new system would also provide a power boost to move the vehicle. The hybrid-electric combines a standard diesel engine with a battery pack to provide extra power to propel the vehicle or provide additional electricity.
In April 2015, BAE Systems fitted a CV90 with an active damping suspension system derived from Formula One racing cars. This technology calculates the vehicle's speed and anticipates the terrain ahead, then pressurizes the suspension at independent points to lift the chassis and keep the vehicle level. The suspension, which had been modified to suit a 38-ton armored vehicle rather than the 700 kg (1,500 lb) racing car, reportedly increases speed by 30-40 percent on rough terrain, outrunning main battle tanks, decreases vehicle pitch acceleration by 40 percent, gives greater maneuverability and stability for on-the-move gunnery, and reduces crew fatigue and life-cycle costs.
Armament
The basic CV90 is fitted with a two-man turret armed with a Bofors 40 mm caliber gun and a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun. The CV90 also carries six 76-mm grenade launchers, which are arranged in two clusters of three launchers; the clusters are positioned on each side of the turret. The grenade launchers are intended for smoke grenades, but can also be loaded with a variety of combat grenades.
Sight
The CV90 is equipped with a UTAAS (Universal Tank and Anti-Aircraft Sight) from Saab. Daytime optical, Thermal Imaging System (TIS) and Generation III Image Intensification (II).
Production
Production of the CV 90 began in 1993, and over 1 000 vehicles have been ordered. In November 2000, Finland ordered 57 CV9030 vehicles. Total cost was €250 million (in 2008 euros), or €4.42 million per vehicle. In June 2004, Finland made another purchase, bringing the overall quantity ordered to 102. This time the cost was €2.92 million (in 2008 euros) per vehicle. In December 2005, Denmark ordered 45 CV9035 vehicles for a cost of €188 million or €4.18 million per vehicle. The Netherlands ordered 184 combat plus 8 instruction CV9035 vehicles for a cost of €749 million, or €3.9 million per vehicle.
Research
Hägglunds (now BAE Systems AB) demonstrated in 2011 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.
Domestic
Developed by Hägglund/Bofors in cooperation with FOA and FMV for Försvarsmakten as part of the Stridsfordon 90 (Strf 90)-family. Sweden originally planned for a mix of CV9040 and CV9025, tests of the 25 mm turret being carried out on an Ikv 91 chassis, but finally decided on the 40 mm version, due to the much higher versatility of the larger calibre.
Versions are referred to by the letters A, B or C depending on upgrades. All from A onwards remain in service.
The command, forward observation and recovery vehicles are armed only with a machine gun.
BAE Systems received a contract in December 2016 to install Mjölner 120 mm mortars on 40 Swedish CV90s to increase the vehicles' indirect fire capability to support mechanized battalions.
The following versions were not taken into Swedish army service.
Export versions
The CV90 Armadillo can be modified to become a personnel carrier, an ambulance, a command and control centre, a recovery vehicle and many other non-turreted variants at low cost due up to 80% commonality among variants. Currently, only the APC version has been built, with five units delivered to Denmark for trials.
Combat service
First use was by the Swedish UN-forces in Liberia 2004, where 13 Stridsfordon 9040C were deployed.
Since production had begun in 1993, the CV90 had remained untested in combat until November 2007, when Norwegian Army CV90s from the 2nd Battalion saw heavy combat during Operation Harekate Yolo in Afghanistan. During the first week of November, Norwegian ISAF forces from the 2nd Battalion and Kystjegerkommandoen based in Mazar-e-Sharif, responded to a Taliban attack on Afghan National Army forces in the Ghowrmach district. Having been heavily outnumbered by the Taliban forces, the Norwegians used mortars and, in particular, CV90s, to suppress the attack. The operation left an unknown number of Taliban casualties, but Norwegian news sources say as many as 45 to 65 Taliban fighters may have been killed, and many more wounded.
The CV90 was later used extensively by ISAF-forces of the Norwegian Army's Telemark Battalion in May 2008, when the battalion came under heavy machine gun and RPG fire from Taliban fighters during Operation Karez in Badghis Province. The attack left 13 Taliban fighters dead, and unknown number of wounded. No allied casualties were reported. In January 2010, a Norwegian soldier driving a CV9030 was killed when it drove over a large IED in Ghowrmach, Afghanistan.
In February 2010, Denmark sent ten CV9035DKs to Afghanistan in order to bolster their contingent in Helmand Province. The Danish contingent had suffered numerous casualties since they began operations in the province in the autumn of 2006. The vehicles are from the Danish Royal Lifeguard Regiment, based in the Northern part of Seeland. They are working alongside MOWAG Piranha IIIC, MOWAG Eagle IV, M113 G3DK and Leopard 2A5DK vehicles, all contributed by Denmark, in the Helmand Province. By April 2010, two of the ten vehicles had been hit with IEDs, in both cases protecting the crew and passengers from personal injury. The vehicles lost two wheels and tracks, and were sent back to the manufacturer in Sweden for further investigation. On 7 August 2010, a CV9035DK hit an IED in Afghanistan, killing two soldiers and wounding another three. The explosion was so powerful that the vehicle was turned over.
As of the spring of 2011, Sweden operates nine Strf 9040Cs in Afghanistan. Swedish CV90s have seen combat with insurgents on dozens of occasions.