Germany has ordered an additional 227 BvS10 Viking all-terrain vehicles in a contract worth USD 400 M (EUR 362.6 M), manufacturer BAE Systems announced in 24 April 2023.
The vehicles were ordered through the international Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) programme, under which Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom are able to jointly procure ATVs from BAE Systems at pre-agreed prices.
“This framework agreement streamlines the process by allowing prospective and existing customers to acquire vehicles at previously negotiated terms, while also benefiting from the joint development,” said Tommy Gustafsson-Rask, managing director of BAE Systems’ Hägglunds business, which manufactures the vehicles in Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. “This will secure Germany’s access to these highly capable vehicles for decades to come, and demonstrates the strong relationship between BAE Systems and our customer.”
The BvS10 is an armoured articulated ATV that provides optimal manoeuvrability across various kinds of difficult terrain, including snow, ice, rock, sand, mud, swamps, and steep mountain environments. The vehicle is also amphibious, allowing it to negotiate flooded areas, floating bogs or coastal areas.
Of a modular design, the BvS10 (and its unarmoured Beowulf version) can be reconfigured for varying missions in multiple variants, including personnel carrier, command-and-control (C2) vehicle, ambulance, repair and recovery vehicle, logistics support vehicle, scout vehicle, or as a weapon carrier with an additional mortar capability.
This latest German contract covers additional troop transport vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, as well as three versions new to the German Army: a C2 variant and two logistics variants that will add combat support to the German armed forces.
In December 2022 a total of 436 BvS10s were initially ordered under the CATV framework agreement: 236 for Sweden, 140 for Germany and 60 for the UK. The latest German order will extend the deliveries of these vehicles under the framework agreement from 2024 out to 2030.
The BvS10 Vikings now being produced by BAE Systems Hägglunds under the CATV programme are of a modernised and more developed version compared to the BvS10s already in service, a company spokesperson confirmed to ESD.
Peter Felstead
