![Queen's Royal Lancers-Helmand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Queen%27s_Royal_Lancers-Helmand.JPG)
The BvS10 (''Bandvagn Skyddad'' 10) is a
tracked articulated amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
all-terrain armoured vehicle produced by
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
Land Systems
Hägglunds
BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bofo ...
of Sweden. This vehicle, referred to as the All Terrain Vehicle (protected) - ATV(P) or ''Viking'' by the
UK forces, was originally developed as a collaboration between industry - Hägglunds Vehicle AB - and the British
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
(MoD) on behalf of the
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
.
The BvS10 is similar to, but distinct from, Hägglunds earlier
Bandvagn 206 or
Bv 206S. It is a much larger vehicle based upon the characteristic twin-cab, articulated frame-steering system typical of Hägglunds all-terrain vehicles. The main differences from the older Bv206s are a more powerful Cummins 5.9 litre diesel engine, improved ground clearance, and newly developed chassis, power train and steering units that give the vehicle considerably enhanced speed (up to 65 km/h from the previous 51.5 km/h on road) and comfort on road and in terrain, as well as greater load-carrying capability (up to 5 tons), and the ability to add various modular sub-systems such as add-on armour, weapon mounts, a load-changer and cargo platforms.
Operational history
Royal Marines
Originally designed for the British
Royal Marines
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
and named Viking, the vehicle underwent an extensive trials and development programme from 2001-2004, led by Major Jez Hermer RM, before the Royal Marines accepted 108 vehicles into service, with delivery commencing in 2005. The
Royal Marines Armoured Support Company took the vehicle on operations for the first time in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
in September 2006, prior to the
Royal Marines Armoured Support Group
The current Royal Marines Armoured Support Group (RMASG) is an element of the Royal Marines that operates the Viking BvS 10 All Terrain Vehicle. It is based at Bovington in Dorset. The original RMASG was formed in the Second World War to give Brit ...
being formed in December 2007.
UK variants
The UK currently operates four variants of the vehicle : The Troop Carrying Variant (TCV) capable of carrying 2 crew plus 10 passengers; the Command Variant (CV), which carries 2 crew plus up to 8 passengers with the rear cab being designed as an enhanced digital communications platform, the Repair and Recovery Variant (RRV), carrying 4 specialist maintenance vehicle mechanic crewmen and the Ambulance Variant (AV). The rear cab of the RRV carries a HIAB crane, a fully mobile workshop, an air compressor and a 9 tonne capacity
capstan winch
Capstan may refer to:
* Capstan (band), an American post-hardcore band
* Capstan (cigarette), a brand of British cigarette
*Capstan (nautical), a rotating machine used to control or apply force to another element
*Capstan (tape recorder), rotating ...
, together with hydraulic anchors. All four variants are fully air-portable under a
Boeing CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Ch ...
helicopter, either complete or in two separate front and rear component parts and are also fully amphibious; being capable of swimming in varying sea-states with a full load of passengers and stores.
UK Viking vehicle variants are used as
amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
armoured
all-terrain vehicles
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is stra ...
for troop transport and as vehicle repair recovery vehicles.
UK deployments
Some 33 British Vikings, fitted with
slat armour, were deployed to Afghanistan at the end of summer 2006 when the Royal Marines relieved the
Parachute Regiment in
Helmand province. Their low ground pressure is not enough to trigger most of the anti-tank mines in use in Afghanistan, but they have proved vulnerable to
improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Viking was subsequently upgraded with higher levels of Armour protection. Vikings were complemented with the
Singapore Technologies Kinetics
ST Engineering Land Systems Ltd (STELS), Trade name, doing business as ST Kinetics, is a strategic business area of ST Engineering and handles land systems and specialty vehicles.
In 2000, ST Engineering acquired the Chartered Industries of Sin ...
(STK)
BRONCO known as Warthog within the
UK military
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, su ...
.
UK follow-on orders
In May 2007 the Ministry of Defence placed an order with
BAE Hägglunds for a further 21 units, some of which are to be used as an equipment transporter for the new
Thales Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
.
Additionally on 26 June 2008 the MoD announced the purchase of an additional 14 Viking BvS10 vehicles at a cost of £14 million, including nine repair recovery vehicles, one command vehicle and four
troop carriers, for deployment to Afghanistan. In January 2009, nine more vehicles were ordered.
Ninety-nine Vikings were revamped in a £37 million project, further improving their firepower, armour and protection. This upgrade was due be completed in 2014 The upgrade was completed in April 2016.
Netherlands Marine Corps
![Hägglunds BvS10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/H%C3%A4gglunds_BvS10.jpg)
The BvS10 is also in use with the
Netherlands Marine Corps
The Netherlands Marine Corps ( nl, Korps Mariniers) is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines trace their origins back to the establishment of the on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the Dut ...
, 74 units have been delivered of which 46 are the APC version, 20 command vehicles, 4 repair and recovery vehicles and another 4 ambulance vehicles.
Dutch deployments
On 27 March 2008 the Dutch Parliament decided in favour of sending a 60-men strong Marine reconnaissance unit to
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
in support of the
EUFOR peacekeeping mission in the region. The marines functioned as the eyes and ears of an Irish battalion. This was the first operational deployment of the BvS10 Viking in Dutch service after exercises in Norway and the UK.
As part of the Dutch
ISAF contribution, a Royal Netherlands Marine Corps company has been deployed to the province of
Uruzgan in Afghanistan since July 2009. Several BvS10 Vikings have been modified with slat armour for this mission.
Variants
Beowulf
Unarmoured version of the BvS10, with a new cabin.
It carries up to 14 people or 8 tons of cargo with a top speed of 65 km/h, and like the Viking is fully amphibious without special preparations.
Sales
French order
![Bastille Day 2014 Paris - Motorised troops 030](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Bastille_Day_2014_Paris_-_Motorised_troops_030.jpg)
On 18 December 2009, the
French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces.
Franc ...
placed an initial order for 53 BvS10 Vikings, with the total order for 129 of the vehicles. Including servicing, the contract is estimated to be worth £220 million, and the vehicles will be assembled at the BAE factory in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. This is a historic order, as it is the first French order for military equipment from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in decades. In placing the order, France broke with their tradition of supporting domestic products, in this case the
Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier, built jointly by
ST Kinetics and
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
.
Swedish order
![Eldenhet_98_IRIS-T_SLS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Eldenhet_98_IRIS-T_SLS.png)
On 5 January 2012, it was announced that the
Swedish Armed Forces decided to procure 48 units of the model BvS10 MkIIB under the designation Bv410, to be delivered starting in the autumn of 2012, and deployed to the Swedish contingent in Afghanistan in the spring of 2013. The contract is worth approximately 700 million SEK, and also includes support and training equipment. There are also options to order an additional 127 vehicles divided in three different batches in the future.
On 25 September 2013, Sweden agreed to buy 105 additional BvS10 vehicles for over $160 million, as part of the options agreed upon in the first order. On 19 December 2013, Sweden officially ordered 105 BvS10 vehicles for $120 million. The vehicles include troop carrier, command, ambulance, and logistic carrier variants and will be delivered from 2014 to 2015.
In 2019, Sweden began fielding the
Eldenhet 98 surface-to-air missile mounted on the Bv410 platform as a replacement for the obsolete
RBS 70
RBS 70 (Robotsystem 70) is a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) designed for anti-aircraft warfare in all climate zones and with little to no support from other forces. Originally designed and manufactured by the Swedish defence firm of ...
.
On 3 May 2021, BAE Systems signed a contract worth around $200 million to produce and deliver 127 BvS10 all-terrain vehicles to the Swedish Army, adding to its existing fleet of BvS10s. The contract signed with the Swedish military procurement agency, FMV, is for both command and control and logistics vehicles. Deliveries of the 127 vehicles are planned to begin in 2022 and complete in 2024, in 2022 A $50m follow-on order for 40 was placed while a further 236 where ordered under the CATV program.
Austrian order
On 30 June 2016, it was announced on the BAE Systems website that the
Austrian Army
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...
decided to procure 32 units of the model BvS10, to be delivered from 2017 to 2018. The BvS10 will also play a role in Austria's mission in the European Union Mountain Training Warfare Initiative (EU MTI).
According to the Austrian military magazine "Truppendienst", the Austrian Army will receive the first build BvS10's MkIIB with CBRN protection and all vehicles equipped with WS4 PANTHER remote controlled weapon station. A possible additional BvS10 MkIIB order could be signed after 2018 delivery.
The Austrians received the first of their BvS10 vehicles in February 2019.
United States order
On 22 August 2022, BAE Systems and
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
announced a $278 Million dollar fixed-price contract including spare parts and contractor logistics support to procure 163 vehicles delivered by 2029 for the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV) program. The CATV will utilize components from US suppliers for its engines, transmission, and hydraulics. The Beowulf will replace the current BV206 based Small Unit Support Vehicles (SUSV) from BAE Systems Hägglunds in use by the US Army since the 1980s.
Collaborative All-Terrain Vehicle (CATV)
On 23 November 2022, Sweden gave notice on the direct award of a £600m framework order for an initial 436 units of an improved BV410 model with higher mine protection and load capacity for use as troop transport, logistics and communication. It will be procured in five national variants 236 on behalf of Sweden, 140 for Germany and 60 for the United Kingdom with the option to extend the contract to include further countries or orders.
Operators
![BvS 10 operators](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/BvS_10_operators.png)
* : 32 in use with the Austrian Army. Ordered in July 2016, first vehicles delivered in February 2019.
* : 53 BvS10 in use with the French Army.
* : 73 BvS10 in use with the Netherlands Marine Corps.
* : 153 BvS10 MkII in use with the Swedish Army. New order in 2021 for 127 BvS10 vehicles with a 2022 follow-on order for 40 and 236 under the CATV program.
* : 99 BvS-10 Mk2 in use with the Royal Marines. 60 ordered under the CATV program to be delivered from 2024 onwards.
Future operators
* : The Canadian Army is currently tendering the purchase of 100 vehicles under the Domestic Arctic Mobility Enhancement for delivery from 2029-2030.
* : 136 Beowulf model to be delivered by 2029.
* : 140 CATV ordered with delivery commencing 2024.
See also
Vehicles similar to the BvS10 ATV include:
* (Ishimbai Transport Machine-Building Plant)
Vityaz
*
Sisu Auto Sisu Nasu
The Nasu (acronym for Nauha-Sisu, en, Track Sisu; also meaning " Piglet" in colloquial Finnish) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain transport vehicle developed by Sisu Auto for the Finnish Army. It consists of two units, with all four tracks p ...
*
ST Kinetics Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier
*
Hägglunds
BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bofo ...
(
BAE Systems AB
BAE Systems AB is a Swedish defence company and a subsidiary of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The company is a holding company for Land Systems Hägglunds AB and BAE Systems Bofo ...
)
Bv206
*
Bandvagn 202
References
*
External links
Viking BVS10Viking (BvS10)Project Details on Deagel.comManufacturer's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:BvS10
Amphibious military vehicles
Tracked amphibious vehicles
Tracked military vehicles
Snowmobiles
Military vehicles of Sweden
Armoured fighting vehicles of the United Kingdom
Two-section tracked all-terrain vehicles
Military vehicles introduced in the 2000s