The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine will cooperate in the purchase and operation of Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

Ukraine has expressed interest in acquiring up to 1,000 such tracked IFVs.

It is reported by CZDEFENCE.

Last week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the signing of a declaration of intent with his Czech and Slovak counterparts, Jana Černochová and Martin Sklenár, on cooperation in the purchase and operation of infantry fighting vehicles.

The declaration was signed on the sidelines of the meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine in the Ramstein format on June 15 in Brussels.

The Czech Ministry of Defense notes that the document provides for the three countries to inform each other about the national processes for acquiring IFVs.

This will support efforts to harmonize the requirements of the armed forces of all three states and to find opportunities for cooperation in “preparation for production, internal production, operation, training and maintenance”. It is noted that the CV90 IFV, which was chosen by all signatories, is one of the world leaders and at the same time one of the best infantry fighting vehicles in service with the armies of NATO countries.

CV90 IFV for the Czech Republic

As previously reported, in May this year the Czech government signed a contract with the Swedish BAE Systems-Hägglunds company for the joint production of 246 CV90 MkIV IFVs.

Among other things, the contract contains obligations of the Swedish side that the Czech defense industry will take over the production of the components for at least 40% of the contract value. According to this agreement, the Czech army should receive the first IFVs in 2026.

CV90 IFV for Slovakia

In turn, the Slovak Ministry of Defense in December 2022 entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the Kingdom of Sweden on the purchase of CV90 MkIV IFV. The first infantry fighting vehicles with a 35mm gun are to arrive in 2025. The value of the contract amounts to 1.7 billion euros.

The defense industry of Slovakia will also be involved in the production of IFVs. To do this, BAE Systems and ZTS – ŠPECIÁL signed an agreement, and the local manufacturer will become the main industrial partner of the project.

CV90 MkIV

CV90 MkIV is the most modern version of the CV90 IFV family, which began production in the early 90s. This version of the IFV has received a more powerful 1,000-horsepower Scania engine and a new suspension, due to which its load capacity has increased by 2 tons. The armor protection of the machine allows it to withstand hits of 30mm rounds in the front projection and round firing from 14.5mm machine guns rounds. Also, IFV can be optionally equipped with active protection systems, as well as dditional ceramic armor elements.