BvS 10

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]

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.

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]

In July 2011 a landing craft from RFA Cardigan Bay landed two Vikings and Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squadron RM in Somaliland. They penetrated several miles of "bandit country" to meet up with an important clan chief and take him back to Cardigan Bay for a meeting with MI6 and Foreign Office officials. This was part of Exercise Somaliland Cougar, an operation to train Somali coastguards in anti-piracy techniques and to establish relationships with tribal leaders.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] 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[7][8] The upgrade was completed in April 2016.[9]

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.

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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

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).[17]

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.[18]