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While there were numerous main battle tank (MBT)-related developments at Eurosatory 2024, BAE Systems executives associated with the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) programme asserted at the show that “the time is now” for the CV90120 anti-tank/fire support variant.

The CV90120, a variant of the IFV that is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore gun, first appeared at Eurosatory in 1998. The vehicle thus offers the firepower of an MBT but in a chassis that weighs around 40 tonnes, compared to the typical 60-tonne-plus weight of an MBT.

Although there are 10 countries that have ordered CV90 IFVs, plus an additional two that have the IFV on order, there have up to now been no takers for the CV90120. However, now perceiving a clear opportunity for what the CV90120 has to offer, the company is looking to mount an upgrading of the vehicle.

Speaking to journalists at Eurosatory 2024 on 18 June, Tarkan Turkcan, CV90 platform director at BAE Systems Hägglunds, opened his presentation by noting the smaller profile of a CV90 compared to an MBT. “It’s all about size,” he said. “Big vehicle, big target; small vehicle, small target.”

Turkcan then introduced the issue of strategic mobility. “If you can’t get your fleet to where it needs to be because it doesn’t fit on the train or in the truck, you have an issue, so it’s a logistic nightmare,” he said, noted that, despite its 120 mm main armament, the CV90120 retains the profile of its IFV cousins.

“We see that everybody understands that you can’t cross a certain tonnage anymore because you just can’t get the vehicle where you need to bring it. And it’s the same with logistics: if you go over that 60- or 50-tonne range you suddenly need different bridgelayers, you suddenly need different trucks, etc.”

Speaking of the CV90120’s 120 mm main gun, Turkcan said, “I call her the old lady. Why? Because we’ve been shooting with her since 1999. This is not new. It’s just that the world wasn’t ready, yet, but now it is.

“So we are now working on modernising the 120 [mm gun] because each time I’m at the firing range, showing the 120, everybody’s super happy and asks me, ‘Tarkan, can I please have a look inside?’ and then I say, ‘I’d rather not,’ because it’s an old system. So we need to upgrade this to the level of what we see today.”

Showing an image of the inside of a CV90MkIIC Dutch vehicle, Turkcan said of the upgraded CV9020 turret, “It will be the same buttons, it will be the same switches, so the gunners immediately recognise it, but like I said: stay small, don’t get heavy, you need to fit everywhere. Stay a small target because size does matter. Forty-two tonnes max[imum]; do not cross this.”

Regarding additional upgrades to the vehicle, Turkcan said, “What we’re also working on is releasable fuel barrels to give you additional strategic range. We can add any type of sensors, of course, in the future, but let’s be honest: it’s all about the gun, so we’re looking together with Rheinmetall for the L44A1 high-pressure barrel because that’s the barrel that will fire the newer round, which will be available in 2026.”

In terms of the vehicle’s ammunition loadout, Turkcan said the upgraded CV90120’s magazine will carry 56 ready-to-fire rounds plus another 28.

Turkcan also noted the better performance of the rubber band tracks fitted to all CV90MkIVs, which reduce both vibration and noise within the vehicle, improving conditions for the both the crew and the vehicle’s electronics, but also reduce weight, allowing the additions of subsystems like an active protection system without an additional weight penalty.

He then mentioned the active damping common to all CV90MkIVs, allowing much higher speeds in offroad terrain and negating the vehicle’s tendency to tilt forward on full brake or tilt backwards when going uphill.

Asked if he has a target timeline for developing an upgraded CV90120, Turkcan replied, “That depends on the market; we can’t do this alone anymore. At a certain moment, we have to go forward; I just need the green light. The [potential customer] countries now, you see them getting ready to accept the fact that maybe we should not be that heavy, and then this will fly for sure.”

BAE Systems executives believe that the time is ripe for an updated CV90120: the light tank that is yet to secure a customer. (Photo: BAE Systems)