Slovakia has concluded an intergovernmental agreement with Sweden on the purchase of 152 CV90 MkIV tracked armoured vehicles each with a 35 mm autocannon. Total estimated costs of the purchase reach €1.688 billion, including VAT. The contract was signed in Sweden on Monday by Slovak Defence Ministry State Secretary Marian Majer and his Swedish counterpart Peter Sandwall. As for Slovakia's condition that the Slovak arms industry must be involved in the project, the secretaries also signed relevant agreements between BAE Systems - the Swedish manufacturer - and Slovak state-run company ZTS - Special, which will serve as the primary industrial partner of the project. Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad stated in this regard that he considers the procurement of the tracked vehicles an important step towards the modernisation of the armed forces and increasing Slovakia's defence capability. Meanwhile, if the Czech Republic decides to procure the same vehicles, this could decrease the final price of the procurement. "Part of the contract includes a clause referring to a possible change in the final price in terms of a quantitative discount," explained Nad, referring to an agreement on cooperation in the procurement and operation of tracked armoured fighting vehicles signed by Nad and his Czech counterpart Jana Cernochova in August of this year. The first of the 152 CV90s should be delivered to Slovakia in 2025.
Source: TASR
