Saab unveils new speed assault boat for Swedish Navy

PARIS — Swedish defense manufacturer Saab has unveiled the Combat Boat 90 (CB90) CX, a drone boat designed to strike targets beyond the horizon and counter short-range aerial threats, to equip the Swedish Navy. 

The company introduced the new speed assault boat Sunday morning before the Euronaval defense show taking place in Paris this week. The CB90CX is designed to operate entirely without a human crew on board, according to Saab, and is promoted as a larger, heavier payload platform than the existing 16.3m-long CB90 Next-Generation (CB90 NG), which is already in service with nine navies globally.

“One of the key distinctions is that the CB90 NG can be upgraded for optionally crewed operations, whereas the CB90CX is designed for uncrewed operations from the outset,” Anders Hellman, head of Saab’s business unit Docksta, told Breaking Defense today.

The CB90CX is 18m long, and according to Hellman, its larger hull increases payload capacity by over 50 percent. He added that it is also integrated with an entirely new vessel infrastructure, which includes an integrated ship automation and monitoring system, fire control system, and steer-by-wire technology. 

The new CB90 CX is envisioned to be available in three configurations: an intelligence and surveillance variant relying on Saab’s Giraffe 1X radar; an anti-ship warfare role to enable beyond-line-of-sight strikes against surface vessels; and a short-range air defense variant. The air defense variant will be made possible by equipping the boat with an anti-aircraft automatic cannon that could down uncrewed threats such as drones, according to the manufacturer.

“The capabilities offered through our proposed configurations are well-aligned with the broader operational requirements and future direction outlined in the Swedish Armed Forces Amphibious Battalion 2030 concept,” Hellman said.

The Amphibious Battalion 2030 concept is a modernization program that seeks to shift the Scandinavian country’s traditional coastal defense strategy toward a more mobile, dispersed maritime force. In practice, this means that rather than adopting larger platforms, naval units will use smaller, fast platforms intended to be scattered across the islands and shallow waters of the Baltic Sea and Nordic archipelagos. 

The craft is already under production, destined for the Swedish Navy as the launch customer. Hellman could not disclose delivery timelines, only that these will “co-exist” with the service’s existing CB90 NG boats.

In Q2 of 2025, the Swedish Defence Material Administration, or FMV, placed an order for 22 CB90NGs, valued at about 900 million SEK ($92 million). It was intended to replace some of the 16 CB90s the country has provided to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as part of previous support packages.