Netherlands Expands CV90 Infantry Fighting Vehicle Fleet for High-Intensity Mechanized Warfare.

The Netherlands is rebuilding heavy mechanized combat power with additional modern CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and a wider package of engineering, bridging, support, and recovery systems, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced on October 26, 2026. The move signals a return to tracked armored warfare designed to keep Dutch forces fighting and moving through minefields, fortified defenses, damaged crossings, and other obstacles expected in a high-intensity conflict against a heavily equipped opponent.

The Netherlands is expanding its CV90 infantry fighting vehicle fleet to rebuild tracked armored combat power and strengthen the Royal Netherlands Army for high-intensity mechanized warfare (Picture Source: Dutch MoD)

The Netherlands is rebuilding tracked combat power as European armies prepare once again for large-scale mechanized warfare. On October 26, 2026, the Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that the Royal Netherlands Army will receive additional modern CV90 combat vehicles alongside new engineering, bridging, support and recovery systems. The package goes beyond adding armored vehicles, pointing to a broader effort to restore the ability of Dutch forces to fight, maneuver and sustain operations against a heavily defended opponent.

The additional CV90s are intended for the new armored infantry battalion being established at the Nassau-Dietz Barracks in Budel. The Dutch Ministry of Defence has not disclosed the exact model or configuration of these future vehicles, describing them only as new, modern CV90 combat vehicles purchased with other countries under Swedish leadership. The choice also marks an important evolution for 13 Light Brigade. When the former 13 Mechanized Brigade was converted into 13 Light Brigade at the end of 2014, its CV90s were replaced by Boxer and Bushmaster wheeled vehicles as the formation moved toward lighter and faster mobility. Bringing a CV90-equipped armored infantry battalion back into this structure can be viewed as a partial re-mechanization of a brigade that moved away from tracked infantry fighting vehicles roughly a decade ago. Since March 2023, 13 Light Brigade has also been integrated into Germany's 10th Panzerdivision, giving the move a wider NATO dimension as Dutch units increasingly prepare to operate inside multinational divisional formations.

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The wider acquisition package explains why the decision should not be viewed simply as another infantry fighting vehicle purchase. The Netherlands is also acquiring more bridge-laying tanks, new armored support vehicles, Wisent 2 heavy recovery vehicles and replacements for the aging Leopard 2-based Kodiak engineering breaching system. According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the future engineering vehicles must be able to break through heavy defense lines, minefields, walls, and other obstacles, while the current Kodiak fleet is increasingly affected by reliability problems and is considered insufficiently protected against evolving threats. This distinction is crucial: the CV90 itself is not being acquired as the vehicle responsible for breaching those obstacles. Instead, the Netherlands is rebuilding the collection of capabilities required to keep a mechanized formation moving after it encounters mines, destroyed crossings, defensive barriers or disabled vehicles. A battalion of advanced infantry fighting vehicles can quickly lose momentum if engineers cannot open a route, bridges cannot carry the formation across water obstacles, or recovery vehicles cannot remove damaged armor. The Dutch program is consequently rebuilding an armored combat system rather than buying isolated platforms.

This broader approach also helps explain why the CV90 family is attracting continued investment across NATO. BAE Systems states that the vehicle has been selected by ten European nations, eight of them NATO members, with around 1,900 vehicles ordered across 17 variants. The attraction is not based on one weapon, armor package or national configuration. CV90 offers operators a common tracked platform that can evolve through new turrets, sensors, active protection, electronic systems and national mission equipment while retaining a wider user and support community.

The Netherlands is already modernizing its existing CV90 fleet, with the vehicles expected to remain operational until 2039, while Sweden and Denmark have ordered newer CV9035 MkIIIC vehicles built to the same standard as the latest Dutch mid-life upgrade. This does not identify the variant that the Netherlands will receive under its new procurement, but it illustrates how Dutch modernization experience is already feeding into a broader European CV90 standard. Combined procurement can also shorten delivery timelines, lower acquisition costs and improve interoperability, while the CV90 user community creates opportunities to share training, sustainment experience, upgrades and operational lessons.

The latest Czech program provides another indication of why this approach appeals to European armies. As Army Recognition reported following its examination of the vehicle at Future Forces 2026 in Prague on October 21, BAE Systems Hägglunds presented the Czech Army's CV9030 MkIV in its national configuration, combining a 30 mm cannon, increased payload capacity, a modern electronic architecture, Iron Fist hard-kill active protection and provisions for counter-UAS and counter-IED electronic warfare. Czechia is acquiring 246 CV90 MkIV vehicles in seven variants, with 207 scheduled to be manufactured domestically. The Czech example demonstrates one of the CV90 family's central advantages: commonality does not require every operator to field an identical vehicle.

National armies can select different weapons, protection systems, sensors and industrial arrangements while remaining within the same broader platform ecosystem. This allows NATO countries to combine national requirements with a growing European base for production, maintenance, training and future upgrades. The Dutch announcement does not indicate that its new vehicles will use the Czech MkIV configuration, but the Czech program illustrates the technological direction the wider CV90 family can support as armored warfare becomes increasingly shaped by drones, electronic warfare, active protection and digital battlefield networks.

The Netherlands' decision to receive additional CV90 combat vehicles is best understood as part of a wider return to armored maneuver rather than a simple fleet expansion. After years in which 13 Light Brigade emphasized wheeled mobility, the creation of a new CV90-equipped armored infantry battalion brings tracked combat power back into the formation while new breaching, bridging, support and recovery vehicles provide the capabilities needed to sustain that force against fortified defenses. At the same time, the Netherlands is joining a wider European movement toward a CV90 ecosystem that combines shared procurement and interoperability with the freedom to adapt vehicles to national requirements.

For NATO, that combination is increasingly valuable: modern mechanized warfare demands not only protected vehicles with firepower, but fleets that can be upgraded, sustained, networked with unmanned systems and supported across multinational formations for decades. The Dutch program shows that the CV90 is becoming more than an infantry fighting vehicle choice; it is increasingly part of Europe's effort to rebuild credible heavy land combat power for a battlefield where mobility, survivability, industrial depth and multinational integration must work together.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.