EQUIPMENT / BAE <<
COMBAT VEHICLE contracts are few in number in these difficult economic times, so any company that succeeds in maintaining continuous production and development of its products has a significant advantage. This has been demonstrated by the success of BAE Systems’ CV90, which has scooped the company its largest land systems order this year – five hundred million pounds.
President of BAE Systems Hägglunds Tommy Gustafsson-Rask says the contract could be the start of a ‘virtuous circle’. “Norway’s armed forces are among the most modern in the world, so this decision has created confidence in the CV90 as a product and in us as a company.”
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Tommy has been involved in the four most recent major CV90 contracts - Switzerland, Finland, the Netherlands and Denmark. The experience of signing the contract with Norway, however, topped the list. “This not only secures our long-term combat vehicle expertise, but also jobs,” he says. Norway currently has 103 CV90s that were purchased in the mid-1990s, and a lot of these vehicles have reached the end of their service lives. In addition to the vehicles being upgraded, new vehicles are being built from scratch, including two training vehicles. The total fleet therefore will be about 144 CV90s. The new fleet will draw from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ experiences in Afghanistan. They will feature enhanced protection, improved command and reconnaissance capability, and increased interoperability. On the reconnaissance vehicles, for example, the mast will be equipped with an advanced head containing sensors, radar, night vision and distance measurement. BAE says there is an art to achieving the best balance of cost, protection, mobility and firepower. “Protection is the most important factor, though this must not be at the expense of mobility. This balanced solution is our biggest strength,” says Gustafsson-Rask.
Thanks to the development of a number of new variants of the CV90 family for Norway, Örnsköldsvik will be manufacturing new chassis for more than one hundred vehicles. “Because CV90 chassis are traditionally built in Örnsköldsvik, with turret work being carried out by the customer nation, our workload is equivalent to building the same number of new vehicles. This makes this order particularly important for us,” explained Tommy Gustafsson-Rask.
❱❱ winter 2012_13 |
globaldefencemedia.com
The art lies in achieving the best balance of cost, protection, mobility and firepower
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