Breaking News
Lithuania Orders 100 CV90 MkIV Infantry Fighting Vehicles to Bolster Baltic Mechanized Defense.
Lithuania has approved the acquisition of 100 CV90 MkIV infantry fighting vehicles through a joint procurement with five NATO partners. The move strengthens Baltic mechanized defence while tying new combat power to industrial participation and faster alliance readiness.
On 15 December 2025, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence reported that the State Defence Council approved the purchase of 100 Swedish CV90 MkIV infantry fighting vehicles under a joint procurement with five other NATO Allies. The decision is framed as more than a platform buy, linking new tracked combat power to industrial participation, with Lithuania seeking to include domestic production of technical components and in-country maintenance support in follow-on acquisition contracts. With the Nordic-Baltic security environment shaped by Russia’s war against Ukraine and a wider push for faster NATO readiness, the programme also signals an intent to shorten the path from political approval to fielded capability through multinational coordination.
Lithuania has approved the purchase of 100 CV90 MkIV infantry fighting vehicles through a NATO joint procurement, tying expanded mechanized combat power to regional interoperability, faster readiness, and domestic industrial participation (Picture Source: SAAB)
The acquisition is structured around a multinational timeline rather than a standalone national contract. Lithuania says it signed a statement of intent with the five partners in June, followed by a technical agreement entered in Helsinki in late November by Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands, setting collaboration principles, technical parameters and an action plan ahead of the main contract planned in early 2026. Deliveries for Lithuania and the other participants are planned to start in 2028, making the next 12–24 months decisive for configuration choices, industrial workshare and long-lead supply commitments.
While Lithuania’s announcement focuses on programme mechanics, the CV90 MkIV itself is positioned as the latest configuration of the long-running CV90 family produced by BAE Systems Hägglunds in Sweden. Lithuania describes the MkIV as offering improved crew safety, more modern control systems and armament, and a design suitable for integrating national technologies, a point that matters in practice because “national technologies” usually means differing radios, battle management systems, electronic warfare interfaces and national-level vetronics requirements across a coalition fleet. A technical snapshot of MkIV developments presented by defence specialists highlights a more powerful powerpack around a 1,000 hp-class engine paired with an upgraded X300 transmission, active damping to improve cross-country speed and reduce crew fatigue, and a modular turret concept designed to accommodate multiple medium-calibre gun options and mission equipment while retaining growth margin for future sensors and defensive aids.
The key advantage for Lithuania is the combination of mobility, protection and networked lethality that modern IFVs bring to mechanized infantry in contested environments. A heavier payload margin and a digital architecture geared to integrate sensors and automation can translate into practical battlefield benefits: more flexible protection packages, faster target acquisition through fused sensor feeds, and improved coordination between dismounts, supporting fires and higher headquarters. The emphasis on creating Lithuanian-based maintenance capacity adds another operational dimension often overlooked in headline announcements, because local sustainment reduces dependence on cross-border repair pipelines during crises and can raise fleet availability during surge periods, especially for tracked platforms that consume spares and maintenance hours at high tempo.
The programme reinforces a clear trend: Northern Europe is treating land manoeuvre forces and industrial resilience as linked problems, best addressed through pooled procurement, common configurations and shared support solutions. Lithuania explicitly underlines that reliability of supply and industrial cooperation will be decisive factors as the multinational effort advances, and the partners present the programme as a way to strengthen interoperability while enhancing the defensive capacity of the Northern European region. Finland has described the same joint-procurement logic in terms of economies of scale, compatibility, interoperability, security of supply and reduced maintenance costs, which helps explain why the CV90 MkIV programme is being managed as a regional endeavour rather than six separate buys. Financial terms for Lithuania’s order were not disclosed in the Lithuanian announcement, but recent CV90 contracting in the region has reached multi-billion-dollar levels, underlining that the decisive variable is not only unit price but also the lifecycle package: spares, upgrades, training systems and industrial participation across decades of service.
Lithuania’s decision locks in the direction of travel for its mechanized forces while tying national requirements to a multinational acquisition calendar that aims to deliver from 2028 onward. The next milestone is the main contract planned for early 2026, where the balance between commonality across partners and Lithuania-specific industrial and integration needs will be settled. If executed as described, the purchase will not only expand Lithuania’s tracked fighting capacity, but also anchor sustainment and selected component work at home, tightening the link between deterrence on NATO’s eastern flank and the industrial foundations needed to keep a fleet ready when warning time is short.