Last May, Swedish manufacturer BAE Systems Hägglunds won an order for the production of 246 CV90 tracked infantry fighting vehicles for the Czech Army in seven versions. The first vehicles should be received by our army in 2026, so the production schedule is in full swing and is very busy. The programme includes, among other things, a series of technical meetings, tests and visits of the representatives of the Czech Armed Forces directly to the manufacturer, which is why recently Czech specialists and future users of the CV90 CVP visited Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, the headquarters of BAE Systems Hägglunds, for the second time.

Within the production of the CV90 Mk4, the Swedish manufacturer is also working on a Czech version of the vehicle according to the specifications of the Czech Army, so the Czech visitors could see mock-ups of the vehicles in command and combat versions. For accuracy and better clarity, 3D models were also available. "The aim of the visit was to make sure that the proposed vehicle design meets our requirements and everything is ready for further development and detailed elaboration," commented Colonel Ján Kerdík, Director of the Land Forces Development Department, who led the Czech delegation.

The testing was preceded by intensive remote communication, during which both sides commented on the documentation. "The greatest emphasis was placed on the deployment of all parts of the C4I (Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence) communication system to ensure its functionality as well as its serviceability," added Colonel Kerdík, who said the road to the final product would still be long, but for the first time tangible results of the CV90 project were visible.

How user-friendly the vehicle will be was tested in Sweden directly by BvP instructors from the 72nd Mechanised Battalion. "It is important for me that our instructors see the mock-up of the vehicle. They are comparing it from the perspective of combatants. How the material is placed in it, where the controls are, both in the turret, the driver's compartment and the swarm compartment," explains Lieutenant Colonel Michal Voltr, commander of the 72nd Mechanised Battalion, and continues. Seeing its gradual materialization and the construction phase is motivating for us. It means that our generation of soldiers will still experience it and use it."

"Last week an important milestone was reached in the Czech CV90 MkIV procurement programme. The so-called 'Preliminary Design Review' for the first CV90 vehicles has taken place. We are grateful for the excellent cooperation with Czech industrial partners and also for the excellent discussions with the Ministry of Defence and the Army, including important interactions with soldiers from the 7th Mechanised Brigade," Henrik Gyllencreutz, Programme Manager BAE Systems Hägglunds, told CZ DEFENCE.

Further comments will take place this August, when the mock-ups of the command and combat versions will be worked out in detail. The other versions (reconnaissance, artillery observation, engineer, recovery and medical) will follow in later years. The first vehicle, which will be for manufacturer testing only, will then be ready in the first half of 2025.