Norway opts for UK surveillance solutions for CV90 vehicles

Norway's CV90 armoured reconnaissance vehicles will be equipped with Chess Dynamics' Hawkeye MMP long-range surveillance solution. (Janes/Patrick Allen)

The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) has selected UK-company Chess Dynamics to provide its surveillance systems for the country's Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) armoured reconnaissance vehicles.

According to a Chess Dynamics announcement on 2 October, the company will supply its Hawkeye Modular Mission Pod (MMP) long-range surveillance solution for the Norwegian military's Observation Targeting and Surveillance Systems (OTAS) project.

Production has started and is expected to conclude in 2024, Rupert Grinling, land sales manager at Chess Dynamics told Janes. While Grinling was unable to detail the number of units being delivered, he did note that the contract exceeded GBP20 million.

Hawkeye MMP is a land-based electro-optical (EO) plug-and-play solution that is suited for surveillance, targeting, and counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) missions, depending on customer requirements.

It was stipulated under OTAS that Norway's CV90 armoured reconnaissance vehicles must be equipped with mast-mounted observation and surveillance systems that provide timely and accurate targeting data; persistent surveillance; wide-area situational awareness; and radar detection and tracking. To meet this requirement, the Hawkeye MMP will be configured with a thermal imaging camera, high-powered daylight camera, laser pointer, and a laser rangefinder. Combined with the company's geo-data algorithms, the MMP achieves a Category 1 Target Location Error (TLE) rating enabling it to observe and target the battlespace out to ranges of 20 km, the announcement noted.

Hawkeye MMP is part of a family of EO systems, which include the mast-mounted Hawkeye Vehicle System (VS); the tripod or quad pod-mounted Deployable System; and the infrastructure-mounted Fixed System as well as the Hawkeye Combat System (CS), designed specifically for turreted and non-turreted armoured fighting vehicles.