DSEI UK 2025: UK picks CAVS armoured vehicle

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has picked the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) offered by Patria and Babcock for elements of the British Army’s Land Mobility Programme, according to a September 9 press release from Patria. 

Norway joined the CAVS programme on the same day, bringing the total number of programme members up to seven. “We welcome the UK Ministry of Defence’s decision to join the CAVS programme…we are proud to be working with Patria as their official build partner on the 6×6 – and as a strategic partner of the British Army, we are perfectly positioned to deliver a large fleet of formidable, proven armoured personnel carriers,” Tom Newman, CEO of Babcock’s Land Sector said in a separate press release.

Babcock and Patria signed a teaming agreement in January 2025 to offer the CAVS for the British Army with Patria leading on the design and “providing bespoke enhancements to its existing 6×6 platform.” Babcock was set to lead on the build solution for the UK in line with the British MoD’s industrial strategy. 

In its own September 9 press release, Babcock explained that it would be expanding its presence in the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport to satisfy the full UK-build standards. The enhanced footprint will also support the company’s efforts to export the vehicle. This will add to the countries manufacturing CAVS including Finland, Latvia, and Germany is expected to build them through recent developments at the FFG factory. “The growing production capacity and the creation of new production lines in different countries reinforce the resilience and security of supply in the participating countries,” Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen said of the announcement.

Denmark also joined the CAVS programme this year, with an order for 129 vehicles which brought the total CAVS order book to over 1,000. “The armed forces of several other countries, too, have shown at least a preliminary interest in CAVS,” according to the Finnish MoD. 

CAVS and the UK Land Mobility Programme

The Foxhound is a popular protected mobility vehicle within the British Army, but sits in the lower weight category. General Dynamics, the manufacturer, is also offering an upgraded version to the Army for the Land Mobility Programme. Credit: Corporal Rebecca Brown, RLC/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024

The Land Mobility Programme (LMP) is one of the biggest projects underway in the British MoD. It is designed to replace the light utility and protected mobility vehicles in British service. This covers almost everything from the Land Rover and Pinzgauer fleet, through to the Foxhounds, Mastiffs, and even some of the roles performed by the FV432 Mk 3. To give an idea of the scale of the programme, it had been divided into three separate projects: 

• Light Utility Platform, with an estimated requirement for up to 7,000 vehicles, replacing Land Rover and Pinzgauer amongst other platforms. It is to be procured in three variants: General Support Utility Platform, Civilian Armoured Vehicles, and Light Mobility Vehicles. This project will include vehicle weights up to 3,500 kg. 
• Light Protected Mobility Vehicle, with a requirement for as many as 3,000 vehicles weighing no more than 10,000 kg. This platform is to be provided in five core variants: Utility Vehicle, Command & Control, Protected Patrol Vehicle, Command & Liaison Vehicle, and Tactical Support Vehicle. It is expected to replace the existing protected mobility fleet, including vehicles like the Foxhound, Husky, and Panther. 
• Medium Protected Mobility, the heaviest of the projects with requirements for around 1,600 vehicles weighing up to 20,000 kg in five variants: Equipment Support Vehicle, Command & Control, Troop Carrying Vehicle, Battlefield Ambulance, and Tactical Support Vehicle. Some of these vehicles will replace roles previously performed by the FV432, as well as some of the heavier protected mobility platforms like Mastiff. 

There was also a form of requirement for a heavy protected platform, which has been rolled into the Medium Protected Mobility segment. The Medium Protected Mobility Vehicle programme is expected to replace heavier platforms like the Mastiff, Ridgback and FV430. The vehicles are required to weigh no more than 20,000 kg and it was originally understood that up to 1,600 would be procured. 

The CAVS has been selected to address the medium and heavy elements of the programme, and was picked, it seems, without competitive trials for the vehicles that were being offered. At least three other companies had set out an offer for the programme including NMS UK, Thales, and KNDS UK with the Dragon, Bushmaster, and Dingo 3 respectively. 

Calibre comment

It appears that yet another British Army programme has been selected without competitive trials where the vehicles are tested in the real world. This lets users test the platforms and assess them against the concepts of operations that they understand. At least four major programme procurements have been placed without a competitive tender. This includes the selection of the Boxer RCH155 for the UK’s Mobile Fires Platform, which came as a surprise to some of the tendering companies. A significant element of the selections appears to be the industrial offering made by the companies and governments involved. For the UK, CAVS is a solid decision in terms of the domestic production capability that it will bring, but it is worth noting that all three entrants into the Land Mobility Programme all offered some element of domestic production. 

This is not necessarily a bad thing for the British Army in terms of raw capability. But it often is the case that the process and selection are not fully communicated to the companies that feel they are competing for British Army contracts. This could, over time, lead to a loss of trust in the UK MoD and the value of competing for British contracts. With so many procurements underway, this would not be a desirable outcome as more competition should drive a better offering for the UK. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on September 10, 2025. Credit for the lead image is Patria.