Commanders!

Alisa Korhonen hails from southern Finland. She was born in Espoo (near Helsinki) in a family of a neurosurgeon and followed in her father’s footsteps by becoming doctor. When her father was lost on a humanitarian mission in the Middle East, Alisa enlisted in the ISD and went looking for him, only to have discovered him to be murdered by terrorists. Vowing revenge, she joined local tribes to battle the warlord menace.



In Armored Warfare, Alisa Korhonen has a special Basic Skill called Mysterious Stranger. Whenever a vehicle commanded by Alisa damages an enemy vehicle, there is a chance that her mysterious ally from off the map will fire a guided missile that will swoop in from above and hit the same enemy. Another very useful skill of hers is the ability to increase the amount of ammunition carried per vehicle. You can read more about her in a dedicated article.

Alisa Korhonen is now available as a part of the Commander Loot Crate:



See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

Starting on May 14, you’ll be able to earn a major bonus to your next Gold purchase (even a truly massive one, like 80 percent) by participating in the Scavenger Run event.



In other words, in case you win such a bonus and buy 1.000 Gold, you’ll receive 1.800 Gold instead. And that can make one hell of a difference (please note, however, that the maximum amount of bonus Gold obtainable this way is 10.000 Gold).



Scavenger Run is, in its core, a very simple event. There are many ruined and abandoned objects across the world of Armored Warfare and your friendly neighborhood arms dealer ran across one of them.



You are now being hired to scout it out. On a small map, you choose one of three bases and then scout its three warehouses by clicking on them. Depending on your finds (determined randomly), you will receive a sizeable bonus to your next Gold purchase.



This event will be active for several days (the counter in Garage will always tell you how much time is left), so if you’re planning to stock on Gold for the next Battle Path or simply want to boost your progress right now, it’s the perfect opportunity to do so.

We hope that you’ll enjoy this new mechanic and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

Today we’ve prepared the following items for you:

• CATTB Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank
• Battle-Hardened Discounted Bundles
• M1A1 Storm Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank (with Desert Storm bundle)
• Warhammer skin for the M1A2 Tier 8 Main Battle Tank
• MERDC camouflages
• Bradley AAWS-H Tier 8 Premium Tank Destroyer
• Stryker ADATS Tier 9 Premium Tank Destroyer
• Griffin 120mm Tier 8 Premium Light Tank
• Commander Loot Crate

Between May 13 and May 20, 2021, the following items will be available:




The CATTB Main Battle Tank was an experimental platform, developed as one of the early steps in the creation of a next generation Abrams Main Battle Tank, also referred to as the Block III Abrams, or M1A3. It was created in the 1980s as a response to the perceived threat of future Soviet super tanks and featured some truly advanced components, such as the XM291 dual caliber cannon that could switch between 120mm and 140mm calibers. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the development of this tank became unnecessary and the program was canceled in the 1990s. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the CATTB is a Tier 10 Premium Main Battle Tank and one of the most powerful and versatile MBTs around, devastating its opponents with its signature double-tap feature, allowing it to fire its cannon twice in short order. This allows it to drive around a corner, deal very high amounts of damage and then retreat back into cover, leaving the enemy reeling from the massive blow.

This vehicle is available via Loot Crates, which drop CATTB parts. Collect 100 CATTB parts from these Loot Crates to assemble the whole vehicle.








For today’s offer, we’ve prepared a series of Battle-Hardened bundles for several American Progression vehicles. These discounted bundles contain, amongst other things, the Battle-Hardened status, which will turn your Progression vehicle into a semi-Premium one by increasing its Credit income, Experience income, and by improving its matchmaking quality so that you meet lower Tier opponents in battle than usual, much like Premium vehicles do.



The discounted Battle-Hardened bundles are available for the following vehicles:

• XM1A3 Tier 10 MBT (50% discount)
• TTB Tier 9 MBT (45% discount)
• M1A2C Tier 9 MBT (45% discount)
• M1A2 Tier 8 MBT (35% discount)
• Bradley Fighting Vehicle Tier 8 AFV (35% discount)

In 1985, the Abrams was upgraded with, amongst other things, the 120mm M256 smoothbore cannon. Over 5000 M1A1 tanks were produced until 1992. This tank participated in Operation Desert Storm, which forged its legendary reputation.



In Armored Warfare, the M1A1 Storm is a Tier 7 Premium Main Battle Tank. The M1A1 Storm look was inspired by Operation Desert Storm, including a gorgeous camouflage net model. But, more importantly, this tank is equipped with a massive frontal dozer blade, adding extra armor and ramming damage to the long list of its advantages.

This vehicle is also available in the Desert Storm Bundle. As its name suggests, the bundle contains several Operation Desert Storm and War in Iraq-related items, including:

• M1A1 Storm Tier 7 Premium MBT
• Warhammer skin for the M1A2 Tier 8 MBT
• Iraq War ochre base paint (used by the U.S. Army)
• American Red Desert MERDC camouflage
• American Grey Desert MERDC camouflage
• U.S. Flag decal
• U.S. Flag banner

This skin for the M1A2 Tier 8 progression Main Battle Tank is based on the real American Abrams tanks, which were seen and photographed during the Iraq War. You can read more about it in our dedicated article.



This skin is available in a bundle along with the following items:

• Iraq War ochre base paint (used by the U.S. Army)
• U.S. Cavalry decal
• U.S. Company decal
• Thunderbolt decal (this historical decal appeared on a real early Abrams in honor of General Creighton Abrams’ personal Sherman tank during the Second World War)

Please note that the bundle includes the skin but not the M1A2 MBT itself. This tank needs to be obtained via progression directly in the game.










The MERDC camouflages are based on the patterns from the 1970s, when the U.S. Mobility Equipment Research & Design Command (MERDC) developed a system for camouflaging armored vehicles. You can read more about these patterns in our dedicated article.



There are seven patterns available:

• Grey Desert
• Red Desert
• Snow Temperate, Open Terrain
• Snow Temperate, Trees
• Europe Summer
• Europe Winter
• Tropics

All seven are available in a discounted bundle. Each of these camouflages can be installed on any vehicle that has the camouflage customization feature available. These camouflages can be used in all three environments.








The Bradley AAWS-H Tank Destroyer was an attempt by Loral Vought to mount four kinetic guided missiles on an extendable arm while using the Bradley IFV chassis as a platform. Kinetic missiles were cutting edge tech back in the 1980s – unlike standard ATGMs, they destroyed the target by their kinetic energy instead of a HEAT warhead, accelerating to several times the speed of sound. There was little to no defense against them, although they did have some drawbacks, which was why they were never adopted in real life. You can read more about the vehicle in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the Bradley AAWS-H is a Tier 8 Premium Tank Destroyer. It’s an ATGM-based TD, carrying special kinetic missiles that actually become more effective with increasing distance to your target. It is the embodiment of a long-range missile carrier and is perfect for players who prefer sniping to close combat.








The Armored Warfare version of the Griffin Light Tank is based on an early 2016 tech demonstrator, intended to show the U.S. military during the AUSA 2016 conference that General Dynamics meant business. It was built as a private venture; effectively a scaled-up example of General Dynamics was capable of providing when it came to highly mobile vehicles with a lot of firepower for the U.S. airborne forces. The U.S. Army was impressed and the design has since evolved into what is generally referred to as the MPF Light Tank. You can read more about this vehicle in our dedicated article.



In Armored Warfare, the Griffin 120mm is a Tier 8 Premium Light Tank and a powerful, fast machine, armed not only with its 120mm cannon, but also with special ammunition types, making it deadly at any distance. Few Tier 9 vehicles can match its sheer ferocity on the battlefield.








ADATS stands for “Air Defense Anti-Tank System,” describing its purpose very well. The system is intended to engage both air and ground armored targets. It was developed in the 1980s by a Swiss company called Oerlikon-Contraves and was offered as an interesting hybrid that would be able to deal with both Soviet tanks and helicopters or attack planes. Unfortunately for it, it came too late – only Canada would actually accept it in service and the end of the Cold War meant the end to all attempts at its large-scale introduction. The ADATS missiles were quite large but, more importantly, extremely fast and were certain to be extremely destructive to any Soviet armored targets, even though this thankfully never had to be tested in real combat. The ADATS turret was offered for a wide variety of platforms and was actively installed on a vehicle that is kind of like a cousin to the Stryker, the Canadian LAV-III. In this configuration, the vehicle was called MMEV.



In Armored Warfare, Stryker ADATS is a Tier 9 Premium Tank Destroyer. It is a wheeled vehicle armed with two weapon systems – powerful long-range guided missiles and short-range unguided rockets, offering it some survivability in short range combat as well as the ability to deal tremendous damage if left to its devices.








This week, we’ve prepared another special offer for you in the form of a brand new Commander Loot Crate, featuring, amongst other things, some of the rarest commanders in the game!



This Loot Crate gives you the opportunity to obtain the following items:

• Commander Ofelia Kitescu
• Commander Austin Harper
• Commander Alexander Cortez
• Commander Alisa Korhonen
• Commander Erin O’Connell
• Commander Jorge Alvarez
• Commander Joshua Seagrove
• Commander Fyodor Sokolov
• Platinum Commander XP Insignia tokens
• Gold Commander XP Insignia tokens

The mechanics are very simple. Each crate allows you to win one of the listed items (or its value in Gold if you have it already, in this case 1.000 Gold per commander).

To learn more about what's in a chest simply click on it, this will launch a small pop up window to show you what’s inside!

Please note:

After opening the crate, you will immediately roll on one of the items that are inside this Loot Crate and will see what you receive before you have to actually pay anything. No more random chances – you immediately see what you get and what you don’t. You can then opt to purchase the item you rolled on for the Loot Crate’s price. Until you do so, you will be unable to buy any other Loot Crate of the same type.





We hope that you will enjoy the offer and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

We’ve been carefully monitoring your feedback regarding the recently published article about the upcoming Kornet-D1 Tier 10 Premium Tank Destroyer. Since we do listen to your input and take it into account as much as possible, we have internally made some changes to the vehicle based on the criticism you’ve given us.



One of the issues mentioned was the “double launch” module and its desirability over other camouflage-reducing modules. In the current iteration, this module is one of two alternative upgrades with the second upgrade giving you access to thermobaric ATGM (the same type the T-15 uses). We have also reduced the double launch reloading penalty from 50 percent to 40 percent, but the time between single shots was increased from 2.7s to 3s.

Another alternative module set for the vehicle will give you a choice between reducing the camouflage penalty for launching by 50 percent, and reducing your camouflage penalty for moving to zero. The overall camouflage factor was reduced to 31 percent.

The goal here is to give you two optional play styles – a passive one with less mobility and more camouflage, which would use the single launch mode, and an active one where you get to move more often without fearing being detected – the mobility will not increase in this mode, nor will your spotting, but you’ll get to stealthily drive out of cover, fire a massively powerful double shot and retreat.

One last controversial point is the presence of Sniper, which, as you have noted, boosts the vehicle’s spotting capabilities. We decided not to remove the Sniper because we consider this advantage to be relatively low. The presence of a Sniper does not equate a constant boost to viewrange – the Sniper can die easily if discovered, and she gets discovered quite often. Furthermore, you may remember that we have reduced her statistics in one of the previous updates. Only truly clever players will get to use her to her full potential by hiding her in a spot where she won’t be found quickly. And with that kind of skill and terrain knowledge, players are entitled to such an advantage.

Please let us know what you think about those changes and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

On the 13th of May 2021, starting from 8:00 CEST, the server will not be available for two hours due to a planned server maintenance.



Please note that the maintenance can be extended beyond the abovementioned timeframe. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Commanders!

We’re happy to introduce another part of the Guide series, available on our Youtube channel.



In this series, we’ll focus on all core aspects of Armored Warfare, explaining them one by one in order to make the game easier to understand and to get into.

We hope that the new players will find it useful and the veterans entertaining. Let us know what you think about it on Discord and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Author: Huginn (with special thanks to PanzerAce)

Today we are going to take a peek at some of the more advanced CV90s that have been built, and how the technological levels have progressed through the years. The focus will be mostly on vehicles that are currently in service, with some prototypes showing up. Please note that this text is of a much more technical nature than my previous introduction to the CV90 family.



There are many variants of the CV90 in service in a multitude of countries, mainly in Northern Europe. Nearly all of these variants are Infantry Fighting Vehicles, with a few exceptions.

To get an overview of how the development of the CV90 went from its first stage of mass production, we’re going to have to delve a bit deeper into what it was actually like in its first version, which would be the Swedish Strf 9040.


Comparatively, when the Strf 9040 was approved for Swedish service in 1991, it was a relatively modern IFV. It had certain qualities that gave its Scandinavian users a serious advantage in the northern terrain, but it also had a serious drawback in its Fire Control System, as it was a bare bones UTAAS Gunner’s Sight with no computer assistance. As a result, in its first version the vehicle had neither a ballistic computer nor a stabilizer. This was because Sweden’s military didn’t have the money to fully upgrade the CV90 directly after it was accepted into service and instead it spent the next 11 years modernizing the Strf 9040 from the “A” variant to “C”.

The C version is equal to the CV9030 Mk.I if we compare internal systems, with the exception of the Ammo Programmer for the 3P multipurpose ammo. The C version entered service in 2002 and the Norwegian Mk.I in 1994.

Today, the Swedish Strf 9040 variants of the CV90 family are considered the least advanced in active service.



Right after Sweden approved the Strf 9040 for service in 1991, Norway showed its interest and asked for a 30mm Bushmaster II armed vehicle for trials. It was 3 years before Norway signed a contract for 104 vehicles. The Norwegian military was more or less satisfied with the field tests in which the CV90 outperformed its opponents in heavy terrain, but it was not happy with the technology level of the CV90. Norway’s army wanted a better protected IFV with a computerized modern Fire Control System.

After a long period of negotiations, the Norwegian CV90 received several major upgrades, making it more advanced than the Strf 9040. These upgrades included better protection, a digital Saab UTAAS Fire Control System, and MEXAS applique armor pack compatibility. The engine was also tuned from 550hp to 605hp.

And so it was that the CV90 took its first step towards modularity in 1994.



The CV9030 Mk.II was ordered by the Swiss army in 1998. It was a slightly modernized variant with improved protection. The Mk.II also had a much more modern computer system in the form of a Vehicle Control System that could be improved with a Battle Management System and a Defensive Aid Suite. It also received a new engine - the Scania DS16 with 680 hp. With all these upgrades, the tank became slightly heavier, ending up with a total weight of 28.7 tons over the previous Mk.I variant’s 26 tons.

An order was placed for 186 vehicles and all were delivered between 2002 and 2005. Finland also ordered the same CV9030 Mk.II that Switzerland got with some minor modifications, making it slightly lighter than the Swiss variant. The development of the CV90 eventually led to the CV9035 Mk.III version, which was completed in 2004. The Netherlands and Denmark became interested in this program and Estonia recently bought 45 vehicles from the Netherlands in 2014.

The vehicle’s weight increased significantly from 28 tons to 35 tons. Most of the weight increase was caused by a considerable increase in protective capabilities, including even higher standards of computerization and increased internal space volume. The engine was also modified to produce 810 horsepower so that mobility would not suffer due the massive weight increase.

We can see there was a scaling increase in the quality of technology mostly in the digital part of the vehicle, as this is where it was lacking the most from at the beginning. The basic vehicle is excellent in the sense that it’s easily configurable for any country’s requirements. With a multitude of alternatives in weaponry, protection, modularity and mobility, the CV90 chassis has a large potential for improvement.

The current peak of the CV90 family is the most recent Norwegian CV90 fleet. At this point in its development, the vehicle has been redesigned to be completely modular, even to the point of sharing turrets and internal systems at will.

What used to be only one Norwegian variant was split into 5 different types. The progression of the modern vehicle development culminated in the full modularity of the CV90 platform, growing from its first roots in the Norwegian vehicle park.

The variants have an extremely high number of different high-tech solutions and equipment available. Going through them all would take me a long time, so we’re going to keep to the variants that are viable for Armored Warfare. We have 2 out of 5 vehicles that are legitimate suggestions for tier 10 placements in the game - the Infantry Fighting Vehicle version, and the Recon version.

They are both using the newest chassis for the CV90, which is the Mk.III version. There is some debate as to whether the armor on the 2015 version is superior to the 2004 version, but the military has so far only stated that the armor is “smarter” than previous versions. It’s impossible to find out if its better, but we can safely assume it is.



Fortunately, some details about these vehicles have been released. All the optics devices were modernized and the vehicles operate on a highly advanced Virtual Reality Battle Management System named “AWARE”. Trials for this Battlefield Management System were performed using the “Protector” Remote Weapon Station mounted on the vehicles.

This system provides a real time feed of enemy positions and their type through the optics, vastly improving battlefield awareness instead of relying on map data only. This BMS is an upgrade that is applied to all the frontline vehicles.

One thing that is unique to the Norwegian CV90s is the use of rubber tracks. With the same life expectancy as a steel track, this solution offers a whole lot of improvements. Some of the major advantages include fewer vibrations, better acceleration, better off road driving capabilities and improved comfort for everyone onboard, not to mention the fact that the vehicle saves one ton in weight this way.

Currently, only Norway uses these rubber tracks.

The recon vehicle is internally very different when compared to the IFV version. It has a crew of 6 people operating all the sensors, including an electro optical mast that can extend up to 6 meters into the air. It is a modular Vingtaqs II Sensor system that can be customized based on mission requirements. Normally, it is equipped with radar, a thermal camera and a day-vision camera that can detect enemies up to 30 kilometers away, depending on the situation, and it also has Laser Target Designation capabilities. The turret of the recon version is also very different in shape – this may be due to an applique armor kit or to decrease radar signature, but these are only speculations as there is currently no information available on the turret design.

There are probably many more interesting features on the CV9030 Mk.III, but for now these are the only official ones I could find.


With the rapid pace at which the technology of the CV90 family is progressing, future modernizations might appear quite soon. But what is currently being tested and what platforms are BAE Systems using?

There are three vehicles that BAE Systems have used recently as trial platforms: the CV90 Armadillo, the CV90 FRES and the CV90120-T. All of these vehicles are equipped with new technologies that are classified but can give us an insight into the future of CV90 chassis development.



The CV90 Armadillo is the most unconventional of the three platforms. BAE Systems turned to Formula 1 racing to get their inspiration for vehicle improvement here. The result was a new active suspension dampening system that was originally made for carbon chassis vehicles with a weight of 700kg or less. They adapted it for a vehicle that weighs 35 tons and, as a result, mobility was substantially increased in battlefield terrain conditions, allowing the CV90 Armadillo to increase its off-road maximum speed from 70 km/h to 100 km/h, an increase of 40%. The Armadillo is also the vehicle to test many different types of protection systems, the best known of which is the Saab LEDS, a multi-stage active or passive protection system depending on client demands.



The CV90 FRES was related to the British FRES program, which required a large amount of optics and systems in order to meet the requirements of the British Army. The most notable optics system present on the CV90 FRES is the “JANUS”, a ball-shaped stabilized panoramic electro-optical sensor. It is mounted on the top of the turret and can rotate 360 degrees with 90 degrees elevation, allowing it to follow air targets as well. To properly fit the requirements, the vehicle was also equipped with an advanced military network system and a new turret equipped with a compact 40mm autocannon.



The CV90 “Ghost” is probably the most different CV90 platform due to its unique design. It is first and foremost an advanced prototype derived from the CV90120-T, which was armed with a new 120mm smoothbore gun from Rheinmetall, a new turret and the ADAPTIV thermal cloak system.

The ADAPTIV system is the main reason this platform stands out amongst other vehicles since it has the ability to become completely invisible to modern thermal cameras. It is a hexagonal-shaped tile system that covers the entire vehicle, capable of dissipating heat across the entire chassis. The preview trial videos have shown that it can mimic car wrecks and civilian vehicles without being detected at all. The turret was modified as well to minimize radar signature and it should be mentioned that the vehicle can also be fitted with radar absorbing materials.

It is designed to be completely invisible on the battlefield of today and the future and truly lives up to its nickname.


The development of the CV90 has been an interesting road, from its first basic iteration to advances in mobility, protection and firepower. Even today it still has more potential than many other platforms. Currently, there are few other platforms that can compare to the CV90’s success and potential in all the above-mentioned categories. With all the promising prototypes and technology being tested, who knows what the future of the CV90 platform might bring.

Commanders!

We are pleased to announce another special community-driven PvP tournament, this time organized by the German DCOT community!



Do you have what it takes to defeat the best players on the server? Join and win one of the amazing prizes we’ve prepared for you!

• Language: English or German
• Date: 22.5.2021, 29.5.2021
• Time: from 18:30 to 23:30
• Mode: PvP (Standard)
• Team Size: 5-man teams with 2 substitutes
• Tournament Format: Best of 3, Single Elimination
• Maps: Randomly drawn
• Tier: 7 (Not allowed: Premium vehicles, SPGs, Ophelia Kitescu and Alisa Korhonen)

• Sign up here: http://www.dcot.online/DCOT/index.php/pvp2021/

The registration is open until 21.5.2021, 23:59 CEST.




The best five teams will obtain the following prizes:

• First place: ZTQ-15 LT for all members of the team
• Second place: Leopard Revolution MBT for all members of the team
• Third place: Sabra MBT for all members of the team
• Fourth place: 14 days of Premium Time for all members of the team
• Fifth place: 7 days of Premium Time for all members of the team

The host of this Event is the DCOT (Deutsche Community Organisations-Team). You can find the list of rules following this link.

• E-mail: info@dcot.online
• Web: http://www.dcot.online

We'll see you on the battlefield!

Commanders!

To celebrate the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe, we’ve prepared a small present for you.



This gift contains the following items:

• Temporary 1 day version of the Object 490 Tier 10 Premium MBT
• 2 decals
• 3 days of Premium Time
• 3 Platinum Loot Crates

As usual, you can pick it up via the MY.GAMES Market. We hope that you’ll enjoy this present and, as always:

See you on the battlefield!

Author: Huginn (with special thanks to PanzerAce)

In 1984, the Swedish military put out a requirement for a vehicle with a medium sized cannon, high mobility and high troop carrying capacity within 5 years. A year later, Bofors Defence and Hägglunds & Söner joined up under the Swedish Defence Material Administration to develop and design a vehicle that could fit the requirements for the Swedish mechanized battalions. The Pbv (Pansarbandvagn, Tracked Armored Carrier) 301 had been replaced by the Pbv 302 in the 1970s, but the Pbv 302 itself was becoming outdated and needed replacement. The Swedish military needed a more capable design to accommodate the demands of the modern battlefield.



The CV90 is a highly versatile design that has been improved significantly since its conception. There are many versions in active service, mostly in the form of Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Across most of its platforms, the chassis and profile remain unchanged with few exceptions, making it easily recognizable and familiar. Indeed, the biggest changes in appearance tend to be minor exterior modifications to the chassis, modifications to the turret or major internal changes such as those observed in the latest service variants.

The design of the CV90 can be traced back to 1973 and the UDES developmental projects. The UDES designs were attempts to theorize and introduce technical standards and prototypes for several types of vehicles for the Swedish army, while staying within economical reason and efficiency. One project, the UDES 09, was a paper study that could have inspired the future CV90 design. It was of an infantry fighting vehicle with a 25mm turreted autocannon.



In 1988, the Swedish army’s requested 5 prototypes of the CV90 were delivered for trials. The prototypes had 3 different main armaments as options: a 40mm Bofors L/70 autocannon, a Bushmaster I 25mm autocannon and a 30mm Bushmaster II autocannon. The other two prototypes were unarmed test drive versions to experiment with the chassis in field conditions. The results were nothing but successful. Mobility exceeded requirements with the Scania Turbodiesel DSI 14 V8 600hp diesel engine providing a top speed of 70km/h. With 8 infantrymen in the back, the fully loaded vehicle weighed 23 tons.

It could also be amphibious with some preparation. In addition, the armor was very acceptable for an IFV - military-grade steel that was thick enough to protect the crew against up to 30mm autocannon shells across the frontal glacis. This requirement was due to the perceived threat of the BMP-3 and other Soviet infantry fighting vehicles that were considered the opposition at the time.



Trials were completed by 1991 and the 40mm version was approved for service in Sweden, marking the first production order for the CV9040, or Strf 90 (Stridsfordon 90). The Swedish army had initially decided to have a mix of 25mm and 40mm CV90s, but shortly before the trials began it decided that the 25mm autocannon had insufficient firepower and part commonality, so they only chose the 40mm version. The Bofors was a well proven anti-aircraft cannon with a history stretching back to before World War Two. Serving on multiple generations of self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, from the Hungarian Nimrod to the American M42 Duster and the M247 Sergeant York, it was a very reliable and interchangeable weapon suited to army needs. In fact, the gun could penetrate 170+mm of Rolled Homogenous Armor with its Mk.1 APFSDS shell, and well beyond 200+mm with its Mk.2. Sweden is the only country using the 40mm Bofors version of the CV90.



The 40mm Bofors is not without its issues. Ammo capacity with the large 40x364mm is limited to around 232 shells, with 24 of them in a magazine. The 30mm Bushmaster II can carry more than twice that amount, storing around 600 shells. This means you can be on the frontline for a much longer time before returning to base to reload ammunition.

Norway was the first country after Sweden to be interested in getting their hands on the CV90, which would be used for offensive purposes alongside their older and less protected M113s. The 30mm version of the CV90 was shipped to a field test site to run trials alongside its competitor, the M2 Bradley, from the United States. The Scandinavian terrain, extremely varying in fjords, mountains and hills, made the CV90 stand out, as it was designed to operate in that difficult environment. The Bradley faced severe mobility issues when traversing thick snow of up to 50cm in height, which would be crippling for the military of a Nordic nation. Although the Bradley had some advantages, such as better anti-tank capabilities, the CV90 won the competition and a contract was signed for 104 units. Thus, the 30mm CV9030 Mk.1 was the first export model to enter the international market.



In 2004, a newer CV90 with a 35mm Bushmaster III autocannon was completed after 3 years of development. It was then ordered by Denmark and the Netherlands. The IFV had several modern upgrades, including a slightly different turret, overall thicker armor and better IED protection, showing again the versatility and potential for upgrades of the vehicle.

However, not only AFV versions were attempted. In the 1990s, many exotic light tank versions and a twin 120mm mortar version were trialed. The first developed version was the CV90105 TML in 1994. Armed with a 105mm rifled main gun, it was a private venture between Hägglunds and GIAT. However, it was quickly cancelled for classified reasons. Up-gunning the vehicle further, the first CV90120-T prototype appeared in 1998. It had a new turret and a 120mm RUAG CTG 120/L50 120mm smoothbore gun that gave it a firepower equal to that of Main Battle Tanks.



Development of the vehicle still continues. The CV90120 “Ghost”, with vastly improved optics, a new 120mm smoothbore gun and an active thermal camouflage named “Adaptiv”, is now being developed as a next generation stealth vehicle.

There is also a twin 120mm mortar version of the CV90 that is called the CV90 AMOS, which stands for Advanced Mortar System. Development began in 1996, and it has extremely precise firepower and can also do direct fire missions. Although not in service with the CV90, the Amos is used by Finland in its Patria AMV.

Following this success, Hägglunds was purchased by Alvis C&E in 1997, and eventually ended up in the hands of BAE Systems in 2004. BAE is one of the largest military development corporations around. The widespread interest in the CV90 platform and its versatility increased in the hands of a much larger company, resulting in much advancement, improvements and new prototypes on the platform itself after being integrated in 2005.

One example of the newer technology used on the vehicle is the development of an Active Suspension System derived from Formula 1 racing cars. With this new suspension, the CV90 Armadillo broke tank speed records by reaching 100 km/h at the highest velocity in battlefield terrain conditions.

The CV90 did not face combat until November 2007, during Operation “Harekate Yolo” in the Ghormach District, Afghanistan. In the battle, the Afghan National Army came under the assault of a heavy Taliban attack. The 2nd Battalion and Kystjegerkommandoen (Coastal Ranger Command) of the Norwegian ISAF used the CV90 to great effect to support, suppress and retaliate against the large Taliban force, making them retreat with heavy casualties. This was possible due to the excellent range of the 30mm Bushmaster, which allowed the Norwegian forces to outrange most of the Taliban’s anti-tank weaponry, while protected by their large standoff distance.

The CV90 has garnered an excellent combat record in the Middle East, surviving many encounters with IEDs without casualties. There is only 1 recorded casualty from Norway related to the CV90, where a driver died after an IED went off near the vehicle.



The CV90 is currently operated by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Other countries that have considered and evaluated the platform include the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. The CV90 is also an excellent platform that has gained a good reputation so far and will probably be continuously upgraded in the future. It is slowly taking over the European market for IFVs, due to its versatility and cost efficient nature.

To be continued...