Saab receives order for additional CB 90 assault craft for Sweden

Powered by twin Scania DI16 V8 diesels, the Stridsbåt 90HSM is capable of achieving speeds exceeding 40 kt. (Saab)

The Swedish Defence Material Administration (Försvarets materielverk: FMV) has awarded a contract to Saab for the supply of additional Combat Boat (Stridsbåt) 90 (CB 90) fast assault craft for the Royal Swedish Navy's (RSwN's) Amphibious Battalion.

Under the contract, valued at around SEK900 million, Saab will deliver a further 22 CB 90s, the company announced on 4 June.

Saab told Janes that deliveries of the new batch will take place continuously over the coming years and will be produced on the same production line as the order for ten CB 90s placed by Sweden in June 2024. Production of the previous order began in the third quarter of 2024, the company said.

The CB 90s are manufactured at Saab's small boat shipyard in Docksta, where the company has been producing the vessels since the late 1980s for both the Swedish Armed Forces and international customers.

The Swedish marines' existing fleet of CB 90 fast assault craft – a mix of roughly 130 CB 90H/CB 90HS variants – is gradually being upgraded and supplemented with the latest CB 90 Next Generation variant (designated CB 90HSM in Swedish service) as part of a major rebalancing of the force that places greater emphasis on mobility and increased lethality.

The RSwN took delivery of its first batch of 18 CB 90HSMs from 2019 to 2021. The second batch of 10 was ordered on 28 June 2024 to replace CB 90s donated to Ukraine.

For more information, please seeCombat rock: Stridsbåt 90HSM brings firepower to the littorals .