The Combat Vehicle 90120 is a Swedish light tank built on the CV 90 chassis, combining high mobility with formidable firepower. Designed to offer a cost-effective alternative to main battle tanks, it features a powerful 120mm gun and advanced systems to enhance battlefield performance.
The CV 90120 Prototype was first shown at the 1998 EUROSATORY defense exhibition. Development began under Hägglunds AB, later acquired by Alvis Ltd. in 1997, and eventually continued by BAE Systems after its 2004 acquisition. Under BAE, the CV 90120 received several modernizations, including the CV 90120-T and the CV 90120-T ADAPTIV "Ghost," which features stealth capabilities and a new 120mm cannon.
In War Thunder, the CV 90120-T represents the second iteration, equipped with upgraded smoke launchers, a Laser Warning System, and enhanced commander optics, placing it in the Swedish ground forces' light vehicle/IFV line.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Amazing 120mm autoloaded main cannon, on par with MBT firepower | The 12 rounds in the autoloader are spent fast due to the quick reload time |
| The engine at the front can eat up shots, helping with survivability | Can be penetrated by .50 cal on the side and rear of the hull |
| Access to Thermal Vision and a Laser Warning System (LWS) | Vehicle is rather big and hard to hide |
| Great acceleration and top speed in both forward and reverse | Turret at the back of the vehicle, if not careful your engine can get disabled while you cannot fire back |
Mobility
The CV 90120 is based on the already well-known CV 90 chassis and therefore carries over the same Perkins X-300 automatic transmission, which gives the vehicle a great top forward speed of 70 km/h with 8 gears and a maximum reverse speed of 40 km/h with 4 gears.
Due to the increase in weight and because the vehicle had to meet more strict mobility demands, it was equipped with the newer Scania DC16 Diesel Engine, which can deliver up to 800 horsepower in optimal conditions. With this engine, the vehicle has a great power-to-weight ratio of 28.8 hp/t, allowing it to accelerate to top speed quickly even on rough terrain.
Firepower
The main armament of this tank is the smoothbore, lightweight, and low-recoil CTG 120 mm L/50 cannon developed by the Swiss company RUAG Land Systems. It is capable of firing all current NATO standard 120mm rounds. The vehicle is fully stabilized, and its vertical guidance angles are +22 degrees and -8 degrees. The CV 90120 features an automatic loading system in the back of the turret with 12 rounds loaded inside of it, another 33 rounds can be stored in the hull.
In War Thunder, the CV 90120 has access to 4 different rounds in total, first of all, the already familiar DM12A1 HEAT-FS round, which can also be found on several Leopard 2 variants. Furthermore, it has access to the already well-known DM23 APFSDS shell, which still has plenty of penetration power for the side of all vehicles the CV 90120 might encounter.
In addition to that, it also has the more modern slpprj m/95 APFSDS which is the primary shell to use on this vehicle. It is the same shell found on the Strv 122 MBTs and has great penetration power and ballistics, which allows it to deal with most targets easily, even from the front. In terms of high-explosive ammunition, it has access to the slsgr m/95 HE shell, which works great against lightly armored vehicles or to overpressure various vehicles via the roof.
As a secondary weapon, the vehicle is equipped with a coaxial 12.7 mm ksp 88 machine gun, carrying six belts of 200 rounds each, for a total of 1,200 rounds. The belt consists of API-T · I · AP · API-T rounds and is best used against exposed crew and light armored targets such as trucks.
Usage in Battle
The CV 90120 is a flanking master, its great 120 mm cannon with amazing ballistics and high-resolution thermal vision already makes it a great sniper. In addition to that, the tank has excellent mobility, which outclasses many other light vehicles of similar type in the game. When taking a flank, the first priority is to ensure no enemy is there to counter you. Once the flank is secured, you can search for targets with your thermals or use the extraordinary commander's vision, which features a 24x zoom, and eliminate them from a position hidden behind enemy lines.
But of course not all locations in War Thunder allow for such a playstyle, in those situations it is recommended to support allied MBTs and take capture points quickly to gain an early advantage, the autoloader allows the CV 90120 to deal with several incoming vehicles in quick succession. Further, target prioritization is an important aspect of playing this vehicle at close range.
Although the CV 90120 has poor side armor, the front of the vehicle can take a few hits, especially against small calibers and IFVs, therefore, it is a good choice to take out big cannons or vehicles first that cannot be shot at by allied vehicles.
Unfortunately, the coaxial 12.7 mm machine gun does not have a lot of use cases, it is not effective at shooting down aircraft because of poor elevation angles, nor does it have enough penetration for the majority of armored vehicles. Its best use case is destroying the tracks of enemies and disabling exposed crew members.
In conclusion, this vehicle is a glass cannon and should primarily be used as a flanker and supporter. Although capable of easily destroying enemies with one hit frontally, this doesn't help you when you get seen and destroyed first. Instead, make use of the great mobility, cannon, thermals, and optics, and do not search for direct engagements with the enemy.
