FMV has decided to procure 48 all-terrain vehicles from BAE Systems Hägglunds in Sweden. The first vehicles will be delivered in the autumn of 2012 to allow them to be ready for international operations in the spring of 2013.
The elapsed time from the start of the project to today’s award decision has been less than a year. For such a large procurement, this is considered to be a very short time. FMV received two very competitive bids offering two qualified vehicle systems.
“After evaluating the two bids, including an overall assessment of the two vehicle systems’ performance, price and life cycle cost, FMV decided to assign the contract to BAE Systems Hägglunds and their model BvS10 MkIIB,” says Peter Elmlund, Project Manager at FMV.
The Swedish Armed Forces have set stringent requirements for the vehicles. They should be able to operate off-road in terrain characterized by deep snow, mud, mires and sand and also be able to swim across lakes and rivers. At the same time they should protect the personnel and crew against enemy fire and mines. They should also be easy to repair and maintain.
“All of these requirements we have been evaluated. But also the price issue which of course is important,” says Peter Elmlund.
The Swedish government decided in 2010 that the new all-terrain vehicles should be procured to the Armed Forces. About 30 people at FMV have since then been involved in the project to formulate requirements, review bids, evaluate the price, costs and conditions and to test the two competing vehicles.
The decision means that 48 all-terrain vehicles will be ordered in the first batch. The vehicles are configured in four variants:
- Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) with seating for six fully equipped soldiers plus three crew members, 19 pcs
- Ambulance vehicles with the possibility to carry up to two stretchers, and with seating for two crew members and two paramedics, 10 pcs
- Logistics vehicles with the possibility to carry a 10-foot container or a flatbed, 17 pcs. This variant can also be used to carry the artillery locating radar Arthur or a radio link module. It has a three-person crew
- Command & Control vehicles with seating for four staff personnel, a command & control system, and three crew members, 2 pcs
The first vehicles will be delivered to FMV in the autumn of 2012. They will be handed over to the Armed Forces and be in place for an international mission in Afghanistan during the spring 2013.
The cost of the acquisition – a complete system including 48 vehicles and support and training equipment – is approximately around 700 million SEK. The contract also includes options to order additional 127 vehicles divided in three different batches.
Facts about the armoured all-terrain vehicle BvS10 MkIIB:
The tracked all-terrain vehicle with articulated steering has an extremely good off-road mobility. The vehicle can climb a 45 degree slope on a hard surface and has full performance in a 17 degree slope in deep snow. Maximum speed on road is 65 km/h and the swimming capability is 5 km/h.
- Six-cylinder diesel engine of 275 horsepower
- Six-speed automatic transmission
- Length 8.3 m
- Width 2.2 meters
- Height 2.3 m, not including equipment on roof
- Total weight with load up to 15 tonnes
- Crew, 2-3 persons
- Ballistic and mine protection
- Self-protection with remote Weapon station 01 or ring-mounted machine gun
