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Saab's new CB90 CX combat boat can attack warships beyond 100 km and shoot down drones autonomously.
Saab unveiled the Combat Boat 90 Capability X (CB90 CX), a new 18-meter optionally crewed combat boat developed by its Docksta business unit ahead of Euronaval 2026 in Paris. Powered by twin 1,100 hp diesel engines driving waterjets past 40 knots, the vessel increases payload capacity to over 5 tonnes to support modular ISR, surface strike, and air defense configurations. Launch customer Sweden received its first CB90 CX for final acceptance trials in late October 2026, marking a major advancement in autonomous coastal defense and Baltic fleet modernization.
The Saab CB90 Capability X (CB90 CX) is designed to operate with or without a crew, combining speeds exceeding 40 knots with three variants for maritime surveillance, anti-ship strikes beyond 100 km, and short-range air defense against drones and helicopters. (Picture source: Saab)
On November 2, 2026, Saab introduced the Combat Boat 90 Capability X (CB90 CX), a new 18 m combat boat developed by its Docksta business unit for maritime surveillance, anti-ship warfare and short-range air defense. Unveiled ahead of Euronaval 2026, the new variant of the CB90 is offered in three configurations: an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) version equipped with Saab's Sea Giraffe 1X radar and Trackfire weapon station, an anti-ship version carrying two Marte ER missiles from MBDA, and a short-range air defense (SHORAD) version armed with Rheinmetall's SeaSnake 30 cannon. Sweden is the first customer, with the initial CB90 CX undergoing final acceptance trials in late October 2026, although its handover date has not been disclosed.
Compared with the CB90 Next Generation (NG), the CB90 CX increases the payload capacity from 3 tonnes to more than 5 tonnes, introduces a 2,200 hp propulsion system and incorporates remote-control and autonomous navigation functions through Saab's Autonomous Ocean Core to support operation with zero to ten personnel. Its introduction follows Sweden's procurement of 36 CB90-family vessels between June 2024 and the first half of 2026, an order for eight SeaSnake 30 systems in February 2026, and the expansion of Saab's manufacturing facilities at Docksta. The CB90 CX measures 18 m in length, 4 m in beam and 1.1 m in draught, making it 1.4 m longer and 0.3 m wider than the CB90 NG, which corresponds to increases of 8.4% and 8.1%, respectively.
Its two 1,100 hp diesel engines drive waterjets and produce 2,200 hp, 22.2% more than the CB90 HSM's 1,800 hp and 76% more than the original CB90 H's 1,250 hp. The CB90 CX exceeds 40 knots fully loaded and has a range exceeding 300 nautical miles at a speed close to 40 knots, corresponding to 2 hours 30 minutes for a 100-nautical-mile transit at 40 knots. Payload exceeds 5 tonnes against the NG's 3 tonnes, an increase exceeding 66.7%, accommodating heavier sensors, launchers and ammunition, while the product of length and beam rises from 61.42 m² to 72 m², an increase of 17.2%. Its DNV HSLC R2 classification ALSO permits operations up to 100 nautical miles from a safe haven in summer and 50 in winter, independently of fuel range. Unlike the original CB90 H, which carried three crew members and 18 equipped troops, the CX accommodates up to ten personnel, with mission equipment occupying space and payload otherwise available for troop transport.
How the CB90 CX can detect targets beyond 100 km
Its displacement, fuel capacity and power-to-weight ratio remain undisclosed. The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) configuration combines Saab's Sea Giraffe 1X X-band three-dimensional AESA radar with an elevating mast and a stabilized Trackfire weapon station. The radar completes a 360-degree scan every second, has a range exceeding 100 km and weighs less than 150 kg, including 100 kg of topside equipment. Its mast can be raised to 11 m above the vessel, compared with a lowered position of 4 m, increasing the geometric radar horizon against a 5 m-high surface target from 18.1 km to 23.1 km under optical line-of-sight assumptions. For a target flying at 100 m altitude, the corresponding geometric line-of-sight distance from the elevated antenna is 48.9 km, increasing to 126.4 km for a target at 1,000 m altitude. Radar coverage, however, depends on target altitude and island masking, not solely on instrumented range.
For its part, the Trackfire is equipped with electro-optical and infrared tracking, laser ranging and 12.7 mm or 30 mm weapon options. The ISR variant can also transmit tracks to separate missile carriers, allowing surveillance and firing positions to be geographically separated without requiring every vessel to operate its own active radar. The anti-ship configuration carries two launchers for MBDA's Marte ER missile, which use active radar terminal guidance and sea-skimming flight to engage surface targets beyond 100 km when external targeting information is available. Four missile-equipped boats would theoretically carry eight ready rounds, while eight would carry sixteen, excluding reloads. At a missile range of 100 km, a surface target moving at 20 knots could travel 5.4 km in nine minutes, illustrating why the CB90 force must account for target movement during the engagement.
Moreover, the CB90 CX's speed provides a separate tactical advantage by allowing the firing position to move 18.5 km away in 15 minutes after firing, provided sea conditions and navigable waterways permit that speed. The missile installation also eliminates the requirement to land a coastal missile team before an engagement, reducing the detection opportunities during launch or withdrawal. Sweden's amphibious forces are acquiring a different missile, so Marte ER remains an integration option rather than a confirmed Swedish weapon selection. Onboard reload capacity, sustained firing rate and the final Swedish missile installation remain unspecified. The CB90 CX' short-range air defense (SHORAD) configuration, for its part, incorporates Rheinmetall's SeaSnake 30 turret, which is armed with a stabilized KCE-30 revolver cannon firing 30 × 173 mm rounds at a maximum rate of 1,100 rounds per minute, equivalent to 18.3 rounds per second.
Saab's CB90 CX combines anti-ship missiles with drone defense
Programmable airburst ammunition allows the fire control system to set the detonation point of individual projectiles, increasing the likelihood of damaging drones, helicopters and loitering munitions, while electro-optical and infrared sensors, laser ranging and automatic target tracking support engagements against small surface vessels and selected land targets. In February 2026, Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered eight SeaSnake 30s for €63 million, including associated equipment and support, with deliveries beginning in February 2028 and an option for 29 additional guns. The contract also includes ammunition, training equipment and integration support, with the SeaSnake installation intended for CB90 NG boats and accompanied by the Hensoldt Spexer 2000 3D Mk III naval radar. A detachment containing CB90 CX SHORAD boats could either cover separate approaches or concentrate its fire against threats entering the same coastal area.
More importantly, every CB90 CX can operate with up to ten personnel on board or entirely autonomously, without an embarked crew, although the required personnel complement for the three configurations remains unspecified. The CX's Combat Core common digital system combines vessel automation, equipment monitoring, steer-by-wire controls and fire control functions, while the Autonomous Ocean Core enables remote control and autonomous navigation. A radar-equipped variant could operate with an embarked crew while a missile carrier receives navigation commands and targeting information remotely, but weapons employment nevertheless remains subject to human decisions. The common architecture thus allows different CX configurations to share navigation, monitoring and mission-management functions while carrying different sensors and weapons, reducing the need to develop a separate hull for each mission.
Saab has previously tested remote fire-control functions and torpedo launches with the Swedish Navy, including activities associated with NATO's REPMUS experimentation. Further CX concepts include tube-launched drones, quadcopters and torpedoes, but their payload capacities, integration schedules and operational acceptance dates have not been disclosed. Sweden's recent procurement comprises ten CB90-family boats ordered in June 2024 for SEK 400 million, followed by 22 in the second quarter of 2025 for SEK 900 million and four more during the first half of 2026, but the distribution between NG and CX configurations remain unspecified. The first 32 vessels represent SEK 1.3 billion in contracts, with averages of SEK 40 million and SEK 40.9 million per boat, respectively.
How Sweden plans to use the CB90 CX alongside its existing Combat Boats
Saab is building a new facility at Docksta, scheduled for completion during the first half of 2027, to more than double its manufacturing capacity, while continuing the production of the smaller NG to retain dedicated troop-transport capacity. The CB90 family entered Swedish service in 1991 after Dockstavarvet won the development competition in 1988, delivered prototypes 801 and 802 in 1989 and received an initial order for 120 boats in June 1990. To date, more than 300 boats now serve with nine navies, including H, HS, HSM and NG variants. The first Swedish CX is undergoing acceptance trials, and Saab is concentrating its CX export efforts on NATO and allied customers, particularly in the Baltic and Mediterranean regions.
The CB90 CX's operational contribution depends on how the three configurations are distributed within an amphibious formation and connected to existing surveillance, targeting and command systems. For Swedish amphibious operations, a hypothetical eight-boat detachment with two ISR vessels, four missile carriers and two SHORAD boats would combine two surveillance radars, eight ready anti-ship missiles and two air defense turrets. Such a force would allow the missile boats to operate beyond the surface radar horizon of the surveillance vessels using externally supplied targeting information, while the gun-equipped boats would protect troop transports or selected coastal approaches.
The 1.1 m draught facilitates access to shallow coastal waterways, while the 11 m radar mast improves surveillance over nearby islands at the cost of increased exposure when raised. Missile ammunition imposes a more immediate limitation on repeated anti-ship engagements: four missile-equipped vessels with two ready rounds each would exhaust their initial eight-missile load after eight single-missile launches, requiring replenishment before further attacks. The CX therefore adds armed surveillance, surface strike and local air defense functions to Sweden's amphibious boat force, but its ability to sustain combat against an opponent employing electronic warfare, drone reconnaissance and precision-guided weapons would logically depend on the supporting force structure as much as on the individual boat's speed, sensors or armament.
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Written by Jérôme Brahy
Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.