The Netherlands CV90 order adds more infantry fighting vehicles, bridge-laying tanks and new support vehicles for its Army. ACSV tracked support vehicles and Wisent-2 recovery vehicles will be supplied by Germany’s FFG.
State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk informed the Dutch House of Representatives of the procurement plans in writing. Aiming to increase the Army’s combat capabilities in case of a potential large-scale conflict, the Netherlands will also acquire vehicles capable of breaking through heavy defensive lines, minefields and walls.
Netherlands CV90 Purchase to Strengthen Combat Capability
The Netherlands CV90 purchase will help equip the heavy and medium infantry brigades with new vehicles. The new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles will be used by an armoured infantry battalion planned to be established at the Nassau-Dietz Barracks in Budel. The CV90 vehicles will be purchased alongside other countries through a Swedish-led international procurement initiative. Participation in this initiative is expected to accelerate deliveries and strengthen defence cooperation with European allies. The Netherlands had previously expanded its mechanised infantry capabilities through an order for BOXER RCT30 vehicles.
Alongside the Netherlands CV90 purchase, the Dutch Army’s Leopard 2-based Kodiak combat engineering obstacle-breaching system, which is considered technologically outdated, will be replaced due to its inability to provide sufficient protection against current and future threats. Technical failures and periods of unavailability affecting the vehicles also limit their operational availability. Accordingly, the Netherlands plans to replace the existing systems with more reliable vehicles capable of overcoming different types of obstacles. The Netherlands will also procure additional bridge-laying tanks to establish temporary bridges for water crossings. For these tanks, it is expected to join an existing German contract.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence will procure Wisent-2 heavy recovery vehicles to recover military vehicles that become stranded or lose mobility during operations, alongside tracked armoured support vehicles. Both vehicle types will be supplied by the German company Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH (FFG).
Different ACSV Configurations
The Netherlands also aims to procure different configurations of the Armoured Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV), selected as its tracked armoured support vehicle, including ambulance, command post, mine-laying and driver training variants. The ACSV platform is already in service with Norway. Alongside the Netherlands CV90 purchase, the procurement of the new vehicles is expected to create significant business opportunities for the Dutch defence industry. In this context, Van Halteren Technologies will carry out the assembly of ACSV and recovery vehicles in the Netherlands. The company will also undertake maintenance activities for the vehicles. KONI Nederland and Neways Electronics will supply various components for the vehicles.
Avient Protective Materials will supply high-performance super-fibre materials to be used in the ballistic protection of the ACSV vehicles. Cooperation with Germany’s FFG is expected to contribute to strengthening the Dutch and European defence industries.
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Source: C4Defence – Ministerie van Defensie
