ÖRNSKÖLDSVIK, East Sweden (BulgarianMilitary.com) – Yesterday (26 February 2019) BAE Systems announced that the Austrian Armed Forces has received its first four BvS10 all-terrain vehicles under a contract of the company from 2016 for delivery of 32 of the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) variant of the BvS10, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.

There were two handover ceremonies held on 21st and 22nd February 2019 in the Austrian state of Tyrol and city of Salzburg. They were attended by the Austrian Defence Minister Mario Kunasek, representatives of the Swedish government and BAE Systems Hägglunds. BAE Systems Hägglunds is the Sweden-based manufacturer of the BvS10.

Peter Nygren, VP of business development at BAE Systems Hägglunds, commented, “The handover of these highly-capable vehicles marks a significant milestone in the BvS10 contract for Austria. We are very pleased with progress to date and the very positive feedback from the Austrian military. We expect final deliveries to conclude later this year.”

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These first four vehicles will go to the Austrian Armed Forces’ 24th Infantry Battalion, a battalion of the 6th Mountain Infantry Brigade, which plays a leading role in the European Union Mountain Training Warfare Initiative (EU MTI), and the 2nd Engineer Battalion, which can provide combat support in mountainous terrains.

The Minister of Defence Kunasek said, “The ‘Hägglunds’ is the first combat vehicle for the mountain infantry, which makes possible the armoured transport of soldiers in Alpine operations and off-road. We thus put renewed focus on our core task of military defence.”

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The BvS10 all-terrain vehicle is produced by BAE Systems Land Systems Hägglunds in Sweden under license by FNSS of Turkey and is intended for operations in challenging terrains like mountains and snow, which is obviously of particular importance to the Austrian Armed Forces. It can be used for delivery of personnel or cargo.

The Austrian APC variant has a number of specific features including a 360-degree Observation Camera System with six Day/Infrared cameras and displays in the front and rear of the cabin, which provides better situational awareness. The latest Remote Controlled Weapon Station is also part of the BvS10 equipment. It can be operated by both the Gunner and the Commander, and is foldable. The latter allows swift transportation in the field.

Over 12,000 BvS10s belonging to the BAE Systems Hägglunds BV family of all-terrain vehicles have been sold by now. Austria becomes the 5th operator of that flexible and adaptable vehicle after France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

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Source: BAE Systems, Wikipedia