There are 15 variants of the Combat Vehicle (CV) 90 in service in seven nations, so BAE Systems is coming to the table with the latest iteration of a proven vehicle. "We're pretty proud of this vehicle," a spokesman for the company told Business Insider at AUSA. "We brought this as our best way to start a conversation with the Army and help the Army help us figure out what it is that soldiers need."
The strengths of this vehicle, according to its makers, include its growth potential and the mission-specific modularity and flexibility.
"On the left and right sides of it are boxes, they look like they are bolted on, those are weapons station modules," the spokesman explained, "On [the left] side, you have a Spike missile module connected to the vehicle, and on the right side, you have a 7.62 coaxial machine gun with 2,000 ready rounds in the box."
Those modular systems are all on attachment points, meaning that they could be swapped out for other modules, such as a Mark 19 grenade launcher, to suit the mission at hand. "It gives the Army, the unit commander, and the vehicle commander the maximum flexibility they need based on the mission," he said, calling it "sexy."
In addition to this flexibility, there is also growth potential in the vehicle weight. The vehicle has a maximum weight of 40 tons. The floor model weighed around 30 tons, allowing for the addition of extra armor and weapons systems should the intended mission require these modifications.