Sweden Will Build CV90 Prototypes for Its Fleet Renewal

Why It Matters

Extending the CV90’s lifespan secures Sweden’s mechanised infantry capability while integrating next‑generation weapons to counter evolving aerial threats, reinforcing NATO’s collective defence posture in the region.

Key Takeaways

• FMV awarded $37.5M to HB Utveckling for prototypes
• Life‑extension aims to keep CV90s operational until 2045
• New CV9035 MkIIIC features 35 mm Bushmaster III cannon
• EW Störpbv 90 prototype could provide anti‑drone capability
• Sweden will deploy Lvkv 90 SHORAD units to Latvia

Pulse Analysis

Sweden’s decision to fund a $37.5 million prototype programme underscores a broader European trend of extending the service lives of legacy combat platforms. By partnering with HB Utveckling—a joint venture of BAE Systems Hagglunds and Bofors—the Defence Materiel Administration ensures that the CV90 family, with roughly 500 units in active service, remains a viable component of mechanised infantry battalions through 2045. The contract not only funds engineering work but also secures a domestic supply chain, reducing reliance on foreign upgrades and preserving critical industrial expertise.

The modernization push centers on the CV9035 MkIIIC, which replaces the long‑standing 40 mm Bofors gun with a 35 mm Bushmaster III cannon. This shift delivers higher ammunition capacity, programmable airburst rounds, and improved lethality against drones and entrenched infantry. Simultaneously, Sweden is revisiting the Störpbv 90 electronic‑warfare variant, originally shelved for budget reasons, to embed radio‑frequency jamming and counter‑UAS sensors. Such capabilities align with a growing market demand for modular, short‑range air‑defence and C‑UAS solutions, as seen at recent defence exhibitions where lighter, more agile platforms are gaining traction.

Operationally, the upgraded CV90 fleet will support Sweden’s contribution to NATO’s multinational brigade in Latvia, where Lvkv 90 SHORAD units will provide layered air defence against a rising drone threat. Deploying these assets not only replaces aging systems slated for retirement in 2026 but also signals a commitment to collective security in the Baltic region. The programme’s dual focus on life‑extension and cutting‑edge capability upgrades positions Sweden as a proactive player in Europe’s defence modernization, potentially influencing neighboring countries to adopt similar upgrade pathways.

Sweden will build CV90 prototypes for its fleet renewal

Credit: BAE Systems

• Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) hopes to extend the life of its CV90 fleet until at least 2045.

• To that end, the FMV awarded a $37.5 m contract to HB Utveckling AB.

• One of the contractor’s responsibilities is to manufacture prototypes for updated CV90 variants.

Sweden’s FMV is looking to extend the life of its CV90s – the Swedish designation Stridsfordon 90 (Strf 90) – some of which have been in service for up to 30 years.

Under HB Utveckling AB (a joint venture between BAE Systems Hagglunds and Bofors) work will take place until 2031, ensuring the combat‑vehicle system continues operating until at least 2045.

“Maintaining and developing existing equipment is crucial if the Armed Forces, and not least the army, are to be able to grow as planned,” commented Jonas Lotsne, head of the FMV’s army equipment business area.

In doing so, the FMV will need to update the different variants of the vehicle in service with modern capabilities. Therefore, part of the contractor’s responsibility will be to manufacture updated prototypes of the system for evaluation before serial production.

Swedish Strf 90s at present

In the Swedish Army, the Strf 90 is predominantly fielded by mechanised infantry companies that form part of an armoured battalion. Currently, there are up to 500 Strf 90 units in active service.

Each armoured battalion typically consists of two mechanised infantry companies and two tank companies fielding the Stridsvagn 122 main battle tank.

In a mechanised infantry company, the standard troop‑carrier variant is the type with a 40 mm L/70 Bofors gun, known as Strf 9040. Other variants include:

• a forward command variant (Stripbv 90)

• forward artillery observation element (Epbv 90)

• anti‑aircraft variant (Lvkv 9040)

• 120 mm mortar carrier (Grkpbv 90)

• an armoured recovery variant (Bgbv 90)

Having donated some units to Ukraine, the FMV resolved to purchase 50 more modern CV9035 MkIIIC vehicles in a joint procurement effort with Denmark in December 2024. This particular variant replaces the 40 mm Bofors with Northrop Grumman’s 35 mm Bushmaster III automatic cannon for higher ammunition capacity and modern firing capabilities, such as programmable and airburst ammunition needed against drones and entrenched infantry.

Army Technology contacted the FMV to confirm whether the 35 mm MkIIIC would be changed in any way as part of the Strf 90 life‑extension programme but received no response before the time of publishing.

Nevertheless, GlobalData defence analyst Callum Kaye was assured that “this operational layout of a mechanised infantry company will likely remain largely unchanged in the long term”.

A prototype for a new era?

While the FMV does plan to update existing variants, future requirements in a new age of warfare could prompt Sweden to consider yet another variation.

“In terms of the future planned prototypes, older plans may be drawn upon,” Kaye considered. The most likely of these is the electronic‑warfare (EW) variant (Störpbv 90).

“This took an original CV90 hull and fitted a LEMUR weapon station and a retractable mast with the intention that the vehicle be fielded by a dedicated EW platoon. This variant was originally anticipated to enter service in 2006 but was put on hiatus due to financial constraints at the time,” explained Kaye.

European countries, whose military units and civil infrastructure are vulnerable to Russian drone incursions, have continually struggled to deter the drone threat in the second half of 2025, with their efforts proving an unmitigated failure.

The market for mobile, short‑range air‑defence (SHORAD) and counter‑uncrewed‑air‑system (C‑UAS) capabilities is on the rise as the global defence industry offers modular open systems in which any contractor can integrate their sensors or effectors. At the AUSA exhibition in Washington last October, Army Technology reported a growing trend toward lighter, more manoeuvrable vehicles carrying an assortment of such capabilities.

In the same way, Kaye continued, “it is a significant possibility that a future Swedish prototype similar to the Störpbv 90 would be fitted with radio‑frequency jamming to provide an anti‑drone capability.”

A laser‑weapon system may also be considered, but tests by the US Army on the Stryker platform highlighted such systems’ power levels are difficult to maintain while mobile and are inhibited by environmental conditions.

There is a strong demand signal: Sweden plans to deploy anti‑aircraft Lvkv 90 units, which feature layered SHORAD, to Latvia as part of its contribution to the NATO multinational brigade. Not only will Sweden need to replace these units in 2026, but the deployment also provides a sense of the impending requirements in the new drone age.