Ukraine can buy world's best IFV CV90 three times cheaper than Marder — military expert Zgurets

In an interesting development, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia signed a memorandum expressing their intention to buy and use the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle during a recent meeting in the Ramstein format.

Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are already purchasers of this vehicle, and Sweden is also transferring it to us. The CV90 is considered one of the most advanced infantry fighting vehicles in the world. It is competitive and powerful. It is worth mentioning that the CV90 is manufactured by the British company BAE Systems, which acquired partial rights to the project from Sweden.

Another intriguing aspect of this memorandum, signed by the three parties, is Ukraine's readiness to acquire up to a thousand vehicles of this class. If we consider a thousand vehicles, the estimated cost would be around $10 billion, as each one costs approximately $12 million on average. Interestingly, the CV90 is three times cheaper than the Marder, while being equally efficient.

In any case, this development is significant as it creates new opportunities for the qualitative renewal of the Ukrainian defense industry. The management of BAE Systems held a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and it was announced that the company would establish an office in Ukraine and set up repair enterprises. This not only signals the potential purchase of these IFVs but also paves the way for licensed assembly of the vehicles within Ukraine. However, this is currently speculation on my part.