The BAE Hägglunds CV90 Mk4 infantry combat vehicle selected by the Czech army. Supplier and buyer are defining the precise configuration of the seven variants of the vehicle, and held an initial bilateral meeting last week in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, where the vehicle is built.
Last week, the first meeting of Czech and Swedish experts took place at the BAE Systems Hägglunds facility in Örnsköldsvik. It was the first of a series that will serve to clarify the technical requirements of the new CV90 MkIV infantry fighting vehicles according to Czech specifications before their delivery to the Army of the Czech Republic.
The delegation, led by Colonel Jan Kerdík, head of the ground troop development department of the Ministry of Defense’s force development section, was composed of experts representing individual sections of the General Staff and units of the Czech Army’s Ground Forces as end users. The Swedish team, led by Henrik Gyllencreutz, CV90 CZ project manager from BAE Systems, informed the Czech side in detail about the conceptual solution for each of the seven CV90MkIV variants that the Czech army will receive.
The first meeting at this level, when the technical parameters of all variants of vehicles (combat, command, reconnaissance, artillery observation, engineering, rescue and medical) were resolved, set the basic framework for the following negotiations on individual variants.
“The personal meeting with our Swedish counterparts was also important, because the future close cooperation will certainly be reflected on a personal level as well. The constructive approach and efforts of both parties are a good starting position for the further continuation of the project,” said Colonel Jan Kerdík of his first impressions of the meeting.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss in detail the design concept of the CV-90 vehicles so that the requirements and parameters are equally understood and that the proposed technical solutions fully correspond to the expectations of the Czech Army. The design concept of a vehicle is a complex complex of various components that fulfill its specific roles. “Since we communicate in English, which is not the native language of either party, it was important for us to explain the hard facts of the contract to each other. So that during further work we will be clear about what will be in the vehicle, what it is supposed to do and how to connect everything so that it works,” Colonel Kerdík commented on the meeting.