The Swedish Army will receive a further 127 BvS10 protected cross-country command and transport vehicles. This comes after the Swedish Military Procurement Agency awarded BAE Systems a €166M contract for the production and delivery of these vehicles between 2022 and 2024, the company announced. The vehicles will be manufactured at BAE Systems Hägglunds in Sweden.
The amphibious BvS10 consists of two vehicle sections on two tracks each, which are steered via the connecting articulated joint. The crew – four soldiers in the front cabin and eight in the rear cabin – are protected against ballistic and explosive threats. The four wide tracks and the large ground clearance enable the vehicle to operate seamlessly on solid surfaces, over marshy ground and into bodies of water.
BvS10 Features
With a total weight of about 16 tonnes (loaded), the specific ground pressure is only about half that of most combat vehicles. This allows the BvS10 to operate in areas – rocks, mountains, snow, swamps and arctic environments – that are inaccessible to other vehicles and often to soldiers on foot. The BvS10’s modular design allows it to adapt to changing mission requirements.
With this order, Sweden increases its inventory of BvS10s to 277 vehicles. Additionally, Sweden operates several thousand Bv206Ds and Bv206Ss, which date back to a 1970s design. According to BAE Systems, more than 10,000 vehicles have been sold in over 40 countries. Operators of the BvS10 include:
- Austria
- France
- The Netherlands
- Sweden
- The UK
These operators have already deployed the vehicle in Afghanistan, Central Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. This order is not related to the Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle procurement project with which Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden, under Swedish project leadership, are looking for a successor to the Bv206 and BvS10. Germany and the Netherlands have estimated their needs at 140 and 124 vehicles respectively from 2024.
Gerhard Heiming
