Finland, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands on Thursday signed a statement of intent based on which they will look into and prepare a possible joint procurement of CV90 armoured infantry fighting vehicles, said the Ministry of Defence in a press release.
The statement of intent was signed in connection with the meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence.
The contemplated procurement would be in line with the Government Defence Report as it would develop the firepower and mobility of the infantry, replace equipment scheduled for decommissioning and significantly increase the number of combat vehicles in the current threat environment.
In addition to combat vehicles, the possible procurement would include training equipment, spare parts and munitions.
Joint procurement will promote volume benefits, compatibility, interoperability and security of supply.
"When looking to the Army's future capabilities, it is important to work together to seek cost effectiveness in major equipment purchases like this, without compromising on quality and capability. If it moves forward, the purchase of new armoured infantry fighting vehicles will be one of Finland's largest and most important national defence projects in terms of both capability and money,” said Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen in a the press release, adding that the project would be on the order billions of euros.
The statement of intent will also make it possible to cooperate more deeply in relation to other CV90 products, to possibly support Ukraine with CV90 fighting vehicles and to bring other countries into the project.
At the same time, opportunities for the Finnish defence industry to participate in implementing the joint procurement will be investigated.
The CV90 infantry fighting vehicle will be in use in 11 European countries in the next few years.
If the joint procurement is carried out, Finland would be using the same variant of the vehicle as five other countries, and the key features of the variant would be the same as in three other European countries.
- Finland
- 5 EU countries
- Joint
- Procurement
- Armoured vehicles
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
