Europe panics as Russia seizes CV90 infantry fighting vehicles

Europe was "shocked" when the Russian army captured Sweden's CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, but what secrets can Moscow exploit from the CV90?

The Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) donated to Ukraine, which became a Russian spoil in the summer of 2023, suddenly became the center of global attention; when NATO countries were concerned that the Russian defense industry had used some of the advanced technologies that the vehicle was equipped with. So what secrets did Russia exploit on this IVF?

Western media reported that a Swedish CV90, used by the Ukrainian army, was captured by the Russian army on the Donbass battlefield and handed over to the country's defense industry for study. The Polish newspaper Interia said that Russian experts, after studying the CV90, received "a lot of valuable information about this IFV".

Interia newspaper has some alarming analysis for NATO: "The first evidence is that Moscow copied the technology from the captured CV90 to improve their latest mobile air defense system. This is very bad news, not only for Sweden but for the whole of NATO."

Earlier, the AvtoVzglyad news site reported that the Russian military had successfully captured a CV90, which was shot off its tracks on the Donbass battlefield in the summer of 2023. But as for the captured CV90, it was not so "advanced" that it "helped strengthen" Russia's air defense capabilities? And even so that NATO "had to panic"?

The Stridsfordon 90 (or Strf 90), better known as the CV90, was developed by the Swedish company Hagglunds (now owned by BAE Systems/UK), and is in service with several NATO countries. The Ukrainian army has also received dozens of early CV90s from Sweden.

The CV90 has high mobility (even in subarctic regions), relatively good protection and firepower. The engine used on the CV90 is a Saab Scania DS14 diesel engine (Scania V8 series), with a capacity of 550 horsepower, providing the vehicle with a road speed of up to 70 km/h. The maximum fuel reserve of the CV90 does not exceed 320 km (the Russian BMP-3 is 600 km).

The CV90's transmission, equipped with an automatic planetary gearbox, is mounted in a single unit with the engine. Although it is an infantry fighting vehicle, it is not designed to be able to swim, but is equipped with a hydropneumatic suspension system, to improve its off-road ability.

The CV90's crew consists of a commander, gunner, and driver; it can also carry up to eight infantrymen (the version donated to Ukraine carries up to six infantrymen). The basic version's armor (the one the Ukrainian army uses), although multi-layered, only protects against 14.5mm armor-piercing rounds and shell fragments. However, with additional modular armor, the CV90 can withstand hits from 30mm shells.

The CV90 infantry fighting vehicle cannot be called a light infantry fighting vehicle: its weight, depending on the version, ranges from 23 to 35 tons. For comparison: the Russian BMP-3, widely used on the battlefields of Ukraine, with additional armor protection, also weighs only up to 23 tons, and can also withstand shells up to 30 mm.

The CV90 is equipped with a laser rangefinder and thermal imaging sight, a two-plane gun stabilization system, a ballistic computer, a digital communications system, and many other advanced features. According to public information, more than 1,200 CV90s in various versions have been produced. The Ukrainian military has received about 50.

According to analysts, the CV90's remarkable design is its main weapon, namely the 40 mm Bofors L70 automatic gun (with a standard ammunition load of 240 rounds). As for the gun's capabilities, as the manufacturer claims, it can destroy lightly armored targets and low-flying helicopters. According to the Polish newspaper Interia, it is this weapon that is Russia's most valuable trophy.

Interia newspaper said that "the Russians may have copied the cannon and artillery shells on the captured CV90 IFV to upgrade and perfect their latest air defense weapons system, which is the 2S38 Derivatsiya-PVO anti-aircraft gun-missile system (ZPRK), to replace their old Shilka and Tunguska systems".

But the question is why Russian weapons designers need to take the technology of a foreign 57 mm gun as a basis and try to integrate it into a domestic anti-aircraft missile-gun system? So what are the advantages of the Bofors L70 that Russian engineers have to “learn”?

“There is no advantage at all,” Russian military analyst Viktor Litovkin asserted. “In our time, capturing an advanced weapon from an enemy does not help to extract too many technological secrets. It is subjective to say that Russian air defense weapons can be significantly improved by copying the CV90; it is a rash conclusion to say that the Russians are not capable of creating anything advanced.”

Today, weapons equipped with software are almost impossible to copy. Moreover, even the materials from which they are made are difficult to copy. Therefore, if you try to reproduce, for example, a special type of bullet with high accuracy, it will most likely not work, Mr. Litovkin added.

One example is a famous Soviet/Russian product, the RD-180 engine, used for space rockets. And in the difficult 90s, the Russians sold both the engine and its manufacturing technology, and the US imported many of these engines for use. The Americans also tried to master these technologies and copy the engine, but they never succeeded, Mr. Litovkin emphasized.

Therefore, for the Russian defense industry, owning the CV90 does not help them copy many advanced technologies. But a more important issue is to study in detail its advantages and disadvantages, helping the Russian army on the battlefield to be able to counter it more effectively. However, this CV90 is not an "invincible" vehicle against Russian anti-tank weapons.

The most “disconcerting” thing for NATO weapons is that Russia publicly displays to the public weapons that the Western media has spent a lot of time praising, and are always sold at “sky-high” prices; but have performed very “weakly” on the battlefield in Ukraine. (Photo source: TASS, Sputnik, Ukrinform).

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/chau-au-phat-hoang-khi-nga-chiem-xe-chien-dau-bo-binh-cv90-post1546366.html