BAE Systems Hagglunds will integrate Saab’s sight and fire control systems onto the CV90 amroured cmbat vehicles it has been tasked to deliver to the Czech Army earlier this year. Credit: Saab.

Sweden’s leading defence prime Saab will supply sight and fire control systems to a fleet of Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) infantry fighting vehicles that BAE Systems Hagglunds has manufactured for the Czech Army.

The contractor will develop its Universal Tank and Anti-Aircraft  System (UTAAS) sight and fire control systems – which comprise several components to assist a weapon to track and hit a target – under a contract worth Skr970m ($89.2m) between 2023 and 2029.

BAE Systems Hagglunds, as the original equipment manufacturer of the CV90, entered a memorandum of understanding with the Swedish and Czech Governments in December 2022 to negotiate a framework agreement to produce the CV90 MkIV.

Five months later, the Czech Republic soon contracted the manufacturer to deliver 246 CV90 MkIV vehicles in a deal valued at $2.2bn this year.

Launched in January 2018, the CV90 MkIV is a fifth-generation variant of the infantry fighting vehicle. The platform employs ADAPTIV camouflage – stealth technology that uses lightweight metal hexagonal pixels to resist infra-red tracking.

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CV90 MkIV is fitted with a D-series turret that can accommodate 30/40mm, 35/50mm and 120mm main guns and weapon pods for anti-tank guided missiles and machine guns. The turret can support extensive sensor integrations as part of the BAE Systems iFighting concept.

“The new order further underlines our great collaboration with BAE Systems Hagglunds as well as out ability to scale up production,” said Carl-Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s business area surveillance.

Integrating Saab’s sight and fire control systems

Saab’s UTAAS sight and fire control capability for tanks and combat vehicles provides a high hit probability against ground and air targets, regardless of the vehicle’s movements.

As a modular design, UTAAS offers an operator a variety of performance options and upgrading possibilities. The beam paths for all channels go through the same aperture, offering system stability when firing the weapon system.

Saab has delivered UTAAS for tanks and vehicles in various armed forces, including Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, and now the Czech Republic.