Sweden Expands CV90 Combat Vehicles' Firepower With New Protector RS4 Remote Weapon System.

Sweden’s defence procurement agency has placed a contract worth more than 400 million Swedish kronor for Kongsberg’s PROTECTOR RS4 remote weapon stations to equip multiple CV90 variants and other army vehicles. The move deepens Sweden’s shift toward a common digital weapon architecture that supports its expanding land forces and NATO integration.

Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace confirmed on 8 December 2025 that Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration awarded a contract for the latest RS4 remote weapon stations, a purchase that officials describe as part of a long-running effort to modernize the CV90 family and standardize remote weapon systems across key army platforms. The agreement includes options for additional batches, according to the company, and extends earlier buys for Sweden’s CAVS 300 and Archer fleets. Swedish officers view the RS4 as a mature, network-ready system with a strong reliability record, characteristics that have driven its adoption across several NATO ground formations.
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Sweden's new PROTECTOR RS4 remote weapon station gives CV90s stabilised 360-degree fire with day/night sensors, enabling accurate under armour use of 7,62 mm or 12,7 mm machine guns and 40 mm grenade launchers against close range and drone threats (Picture source: Konsberg).

The PROTECTOR RS4 represents the most mature version of the world’s most widely fielded remote weapon station, with more than 20,000 units delivered internationally. The system supports a broad spectrum of weapons, including 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm machine guns, 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, and optional coaxial mounts or anti-tank guided missiles such as Javelin already integrated on other Nordic CV90 fleets. A modular sensor head combining day camera, thermal imager, and laser rangefinder feeds a fully stabilised 2 plus 2 axis mount, allowing the gunner to maintain a locked aim point while the fire control system automatically solves ballistics in real time.

Behind its exposed cradle, the RS4 uses a fifth-generation open architecture fire control system that is fully GVA compliant and designed for seamless integration with modern digital vetronics. The station can share targets across a networked battlespace, receive cues from defensive aids, and be controlled by multiple crew members thanks to its multi-user design. Operational readiness rates near 99% percent illustrate why the system has become standard equipment across several NATO armies, including on Stryker and JLTV formations.

On Swedish CV90s, the RS4 will complement a platform already defined by high lethality. The Stridsfordon 9040’s two-man Bofors turret, armed with a 40 mm L/70 autocannon and coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun, gives each vehicle strong engagement capability against infantry, light armour, and low-flying air threats. The RS4 will be integrated primarily on command, reconnaissance, and specialist CV90 variants that currently rely on manually operated weapons, turning them into fully stabilised combat platforms capable of engaging close threats without rotating the main turret or exposing personnel. The open architecture also allows the RS4 to work in a hunter-killer pairing with the vehicle’s turret or external battle management systems, creating a level of situational awareness previously unavailable on support variants.

The procurement responds directly to the evolving Baltic security environment. Mechanised battalions built around Leopard 2 tanks and CV90 IFVs must be able to hold or retake key terrain in forests, urban belts, and coastal chokepoints where adversaries are expected to deploy anti-tank teams, loitering munitions, and small drones at very short ranges. An RS4 provides each vehicle with an independently controlled, 360-degree close protection bubble, pairing thermal surveillance with stabilised suppressive fire while keeping crews under armour. Swedish officers familiar with recent combat reports from Ukraine have repeatedly noted that survivability often comes down to which vehicle identifies and neutralises the first RPG team or FPV drone operator, something a roof-mounted remote weapon station dramatically improves.

The timing of the order reflects Stockholm’s broader rearmament. The government’s latest Total Defence Bill earmarks substantial increases in military spending through 2030, aiming to field four fully equipped brigades with clear priority on heavy land forces. Defence funding is scheduled to rise past 2.6% of GDP in the coming years, marking the most significant expansion of the Swedish Army since the Cold War. Senior defence officials have described the reform effort as intended to deliver “more strength and better balance,” a philosophy that aligns with modernising the proven CV90 fleet rather than pursuing a clean sheet replacement.

Sweden has already transferred 50 CV9040C vehicles to Ukraine and is replenishing its inventory with 50 new CV9035 Mk IIICs under a multinational program with Denmark. Additional joint procurement discussions with Norway, Finland, and Lithuania point to a growing Nordic CV90 bloc, most of which already employs PROTECTOR RS4 systems, creating a natural ecosystem for training, logistics, and interoperability. Standardising RS4 across CV90, CAVS 300, and Archer vehicles further consolidates this shared architecture within Sweden’s own force.

The result is not a high-profile platform debut but a quieter shift toward more sensors, more stabilised weapons, and more networked fire control per kilometre of Swedish front line. As new CV9035s and RS4-equipped CV90 variants enter service later this decade, Sweden will field a heavier, more protected, and increasingly connected land force tailored for NATO’s northern flank and the demanding geometry of a Baltic high-intensity fight.