Finland Denies Joint Purchase of IFVs With Sweden, Norway, and Lithuania

Finland has dismissed reports about a potential joint purchase of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles with Sweden, Norway, and Lithuania.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence of Finland clarified this in a comment to Helsingin Sanomat.

The Ministry officials explained to journalists that there was no plan or project for a joint military equipment purchase with the mentioned countries, without offering further details.

This week, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated that Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Lithuania planned to jointly purchase hundreds of CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.

He announced that a memorandum for that purchase was expected to be signed in the second half of spring 2025.

Kristersson emphasizes that joint procurements help accelerate deliveries, reduce costs, and benefit the defense industry by supporting production capacities.

However, as it turned out, Finland has not made any decisions on this matter.

Currently, the Finnish Defence Forces use CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. They were recently upgraded, extending their service life until 2035.

In addition to the CV90s, the Finnish Defence Forces also operate Soviet-era BMP-2MDs, which were upgraded at the end of the last decade. This upgrade is expected to extend their service life well into the 2030s.

The CV90 infantry fighting vehicles are gaining popularity across Europe and may become the most widely used combat vehicles of this type in the armed forces of many countries by 2030.

CV90 will be adopted by countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and will also supplement the existing fleet of vehicles in Ukraine, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Militarnyi previously reported that the governments of the Netherlands and Sweden had reached an agreement to manufacture CV90 infantry fighting vehicles in the Netherlands. A large number of local companies will be involved in this process, significantly increasing production volumes amid growing demand.