BvS 10

The BvS 10 is an All Terrain Armoured Vehicle produced by BAE Systems Land Systems Hägglunds of Sweden.[1] 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 UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) on behalf of the Royal Marines.

BvS 10 Armoured All Terrain Vehicle
BvS 10 of the Netherlands Marine Corps.
TypeAmphibious armoured vehicle
Place of originSweden / United Kingdom
Service history
Used bySee users
Production history
DesignerBAE Systems Land Systems Hagglunds
Specifications
Mass5.0 tonnes (front car)
3.5 tonnes (rear car, APC version)
Length7.6 m
Width2.34 m
Height2.2 m (front car)
2.1 m (rear car)
Crewdriver + 4 passengers (front car), 8 passengers (rear car)
Main
armament
heavy machine gun on ring mount
Secondary
armament
smoke grenade launchers (front), mortars (back)
EngineCummins 5.9 litre in-line six-cylinder turbocharged diesel
202 kW (275 hp)
Maximum speed 65 km/h (roads)
5 km/h (water)

The BvS 10 is similar to, but distinct from, the Bv 206 or Bv 206S. It is a much larger and fully amphibious armoured vehicle based upon the characteristic twin-cab, articulated 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 (from 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 and named Viking, the vehicle underwent an extensive trials and development programme from 2001-2004, led by Major Jez Hermer MBE 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 in September 2006, prior to the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group being formed in December 2007.[2]

UK variants
Loading a Viking into HMS Bulwark via the ship's well dock.

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, together with hydraulic anchors. All three variants are fully air-portable under a CH-47 Chinook 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 armoured all-terrain vehicles for troop transport and as vehicle repair recovery vehicles.

UK deployments
Queen's Royal Lancers in Helmand, 2008.

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) as they do not have a v-shaped hull or substantial under-body armour. Less than two years after being launched, Vikings complemented with the Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK) Bronco - known as Warthog within the UK military.[3]

UK follow-on orders

In May 2007 the British 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 Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle.[4]

Additionally on 26 June 2008 the MoD announced the purchase of an additional 14 Viking BvS 10 vehicles at a cost of £14 million, including nine repair recovery vehicles, one command vehicle and four troop carriers, for deployment to Afghanistan.[5] In January 2009, nine more vehicles were ordered.

Ninety-nine Vikings were revamped in a £37 million project, improving their firepower, armour and protection. This upgrade was due be completed in 2014[6][7] The upgrade was completed in April 2016.[8]

Netherlands Marine Corps
VIKING Armoured Vehicle of the Netherlands Marine Corps during a demonstration.

The BvS 10 is also in use with the Netherlands Marine Corps, 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 in support of the EUFOR peacekeeping mission in the region. The marines will function as the eyes and ears of an Irish battalion. This will be the first operational deployment of the BvS 10 Viking in Dutch service after exercises in Norway and the UK.[9]

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 BvS 10 Vikings have been modified with slat armour for this mission.[10]

Export

French Order
BvS 10 of the 7e bataillon de chasseurs alpins

On 18 December 2009, the French Armed Forces placed an initial order for 53 BvS 10 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. This is a historic order, as it is the first French order for military equipment from the United Kingdom 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.[11]

Swedish Order

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 Bv 410, 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.[12] On 25 September 2013, Sweden agreed to buy 100 additional BvS10 vehicles for over $160 million, as part of the options agreed upon in the first order.[13] On 19 December 2013, Sweden officially ordered 102 BvS10 vehicles for $120 million. The vehicles include troop carrier, command, ambulance, and logistic carrier variants and will be delivered from 2014 to 2015.[14] In 2019, Sweden began fielding the RBS 98 surface-to-air missile mounted on the Bv 410 platform as a replacement for the obsolete RBS 70.[15]

Austrian Order

On 30 June 2016, it was announced on Baesystems homepage that the Austrian Army 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).[16]

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 BvS10 vehicles in February 2019.[17]

Operators
Map with BvS 10 operators in blue


  •  Austria: 32 in use with the Austrian Army. Ordered in July 2016, first vehicles delivered in February 2019.[18][19]
  •  France: 53 BvS10 in use with the French Army.[20]
  •  Netherlands: 73 BvS10 in use with the Netherlands Marine Corps.[21]
  •  Sweden: 150 BvS10 MkII in use with the Swedish Army.[22]
  •  Turkey: Undisclosed number in use with the Turkish Army.[23]
  •  United Kingdom: 99 BvS-10 Mk2 in use with the Royal Marines.[24]

See also

Vehicles similar to the BvS 10 ATV include:

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Vikings Prove Their Worth In Volatile Helmand". Ministry of Defence. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  3. "The Warthog Is On Its Way". UK MOD. Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2008-12-24. Providing improved protection to British troops in Afghanistan 100 BRONCO vehicles have been bought by the MOD from Singapore Technologies Kinetics to be converted into Warthog armoured vehicles.
  4. "Further Viking Armoured Vehicle Buy will Protect UK Troops" Archived 2007-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, BAE Systems, 2 May 2007
  5. "MoD Unveils New Protected Vehicles". asd-network.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. "Navy News - Reporting from the Fleet". navynews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  7. "BAE Systems to Carry out £38M Royal Marines BVS10 Viking Regeneration". BAE Systems. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  8. "Versatile Vikings' £37 million upgrade completed". British Ministry of Defence. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  9. "Nederlandse mariniers naar Tsjaad" Archived 2008-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 28 March 2008
  10. "Met aangepaste Vikings en een reuzengeweer de Chora-vallei in" Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine, de Volkskrant (Amsterdam), 11 August 2009.
  11. Robertson, David (December 23, 2009). "France spurns domestic group for BAE vehicles". Times Online. London. Archived from the original on June 12, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  12. "FMV procures 48 new armoured all terrain vehicles". FMV. January 5, 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-09-27.
  13. Sweden will buy 100 BvS10 amphibious all-terrain vehicle from BAE Systems Hägglunds Archived 2013-09-28 at the Wayback Machine - Armyrecognition.com, 25 September 2013
  14. Sweden orders additional BvS10 all-terrain vehicles Archived 2014-02-01 at the Wayback Machine - Shephardmedia.com, 20 December 2013
  15. "Överlämning av nya Eldenhet 98 påbörjad". 2019-11-05. Archived from the original on 2019-09-05.
  16. Austria to Buy 32 BAE Systems BvS10 All-Terrain Vehicles - Baesystems.com, 30 June 2016
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-03-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. Larrinaga, de, Nicholas. "Austria orders BvS10 all-terrain vehicles | IHS Jane's 360". IHS Jane's 360. Archived from the original on 5 July 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  19. "BAE Systems delivers first BvS10 vehicles to Austrian Army". Army Technology. 27 February 2019. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  20. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2018). The Military Balance: The Annual Assessment of Global Military Capabilities and Defence Economics. The International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 103.
  21. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2018). The Military Balance: The Annual Assessment of Global Military Capabilities and Defence Economics. The International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 131.
  22. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2018). The Military Balance: The Annual Assessment of Global Military Capabilities and Defence Economics. The International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 153.
  23. https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=1120
  24. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (2018). The Military Balance: The Annual Assessment of Global Military Capabilities and Defence Economics. The International Institute for Strategic Studies. p. 163.
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