On January 30, 2025, the Latvian Ministry of Defense signed a contract with the Spanish division of General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS)-Santa Bárbara Sistemas of General Dynamics Corporation for the supply of the first batch of 42 infantry fighting vehicles on the ASCOD tracked platform for the Latvian Armed Forces. The contract value is 373 million euros.
A prototype infantry fighting vehicle ordered by the Latvian Armed Forces on the ASCOD tracked platform produced by the Spanish division of General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS)-Santa Bárbara Sistemas Corporation of General Dynamics with a UT 30 Mk II turret of the Israeli company Elbit Systems (c) Ministry of Defense of Latvia
Earlier on November 12, 2024, the Latvian Ministry of Defense announced the selection of an infantry fighting vehicle based on the GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas ASCOD platform for the Latvian Armed Forces following an international competition and announced the start of negotiations with the Spanish side to conclude a contract for their purchase. Deliveries are optimistically planned to begin as early as 2026. In total, according to media reports, the Latvian army intends to purchase at least 100 new-type infantry fighting vehicles.
The tender for the purchase of infantry fighting vehicles for the Latvian army was launched in January 2023. In fact, three vehicles were selected to participate in the tender - in addition to ASCOD, the Tulpar infantry fighting vehicle from the Turkish company Otokar and the K21 from the South Korean company Hanwha Aerospace. These proposals, as can be understood, were selected based on the planned limited purchase price, as a result of which such obvious "top-end" cars as the CV90 were not among the final bidders, although the latter was considered from the very beginning. All three candidate samples passed separate evaluation tests by the Latvian Ministry of Defense in the fall of 2023.
It is reported that the infantry fighting vehicles ordered by Latvia should be made on the heavier ASCOD 2 platform and will be equipped with uninhabited (optionally inhabited) UT 30 Mk II turrets from the Israeli company Elbit Systems with 30 mm Northrop Grumman Bushmaster Mk 44 automatic cannons. The infantry fighting vehicles will also have ATGM launchers (apparently, the Rafael Spike-LR2). The crew of the infantry fighting vehicle will be three people, the troop compartment will accommodate six people.
The ASCOD infantry fighting vehicle (Austrian Spanish Cooperation Development) was originally developed as part of a joint Spanish-Austrian program in the 1980s and 1990s by the Spanish company Santa Barbara Sistemas and the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug based on the latter's long-term developments in this field (since 2003, both companies have been part of General Dynamics European Land Systems - GDELS), these infantry fighting vehicles have been in service with the Spanish army since 1996 under the name Pizarro, and in service with the Austrian army since 2001 under the name Ulan. Subsequently, the ASCOD platform (and its heavier derivative ASCOD 2) was used as the base for a large number of armored vehicle projects, of which the British Ajax family of armored vehicles, the American M10 Booker cannon combat vehicle ("medium tank") and the Israeli Elbit Systems supplied to the Philippines were brought to serial status in recent years."Sabrah medium tanks. An armored personnel carrier and a base for VAC special-purpose vehicles have also been created on the ASCOD platform, which is planned to be purchased by the Spanish army.
