Saab Unveils Optionally Crewed CB90 CX Combat Boat

"The future of naval operations is not just about having more platforms; it is about distributing greater combat capability across the force," Anders Hellman, head of Saab’s Docksta business unit, said in Saab's announcement of the new Combat Boat 90 Capability X (CB90 CX).

Saab’s CB90 CX: size, power, and endurance

The CB90 CX is a larger, more heavily equipped evolution of Saab’s long‑established CB90 family. The CX’s hull measures 59 feet overall, up from 54.5 feet for the CB90 NG, and retains a high‑speed waterjet propulsion arrangement driven by two 1,100‑horsepower engines. Saab states the CX can exceed 40 knots and travel for more than 300 nautical miles at that speed. In crewed configuration the boat can carry up to 10 personnel.

Optional crewed operations and Saab’s Autonomous Ocean Core

Saab is supplying the CX as an "optionally crewed" platform: every CB90 CX will include the company’s Autonomous Ocean Core system and the option to operate autonomously. Saab has not published full technical details of the autonomous modes, but the company says human supervision will be required as part of the decision‑making process and that the operator will decide whether to employ autonomous operations for any given mission.

Three mission variants and modular payloads

Saab presented the CX in three initial mission configurations—ISR, anti‑surface warfare, and short‑range air defense (SHORAD)—and plans additional options such as drone launchers and torpedo armament.

• ISR: The ISR variant carries Saab’s Giraffe 1X X‑band 3D surveillance radar, mounted on a 36‑foot extending mast. Saab says the radar can detect and track aerial targets out to more than 62 miles and provide surface surveillance in littoral zones.
• Anti‑surface warfare: Saab showed renderings of the CX armed with a pair of MBDA Marte ER anti‑ship missiles in angled canisters. Marte ER is a lightweight, long‑range missile Saab describes as having a range of over 62 miles and an active radar seeker; Saab confirmed Sweden will instead equip its boats with a different, undisclosed missile. Both ISR and anti‑ship versions carry a Trackfire remote weapon station in 12.7mm or 30mm calibers for self‑defense.
• SHORAD: The SHORAD configuration is built around Rheinmetall’s Seasnake 30mm autocannon, which Saab says has a nominal maximum rate of fire of 1,100 rounds per minute. Saab highlights the gun’s role against drones, helicopters and surface targets, including uncrewed surface vessels (USVs).

Sweden as launch customer and production posture

Sweden will be the CB90 CX launch customer: Saab confirmed 36 boats are under contract for the Swedish Amphibious Battalion. Saab says the first boat for Sweden is undergoing final acceptance trials. The company intends to produce the CX alongside the existing CB90 NG and plans to use a new production site to meet expected demand.

Baltic, Black Sea, and Red Sea contexts shaping design

Saab explicitly tied the CX’s concept to recent operations in three regions. The company cited the Baltic Sea as a theater where protection of critical infrastructure is a priority "as the threat from Russia continues to grow." For the Black Sea, Saab referenced extensive naval warfare between Russia and Ukraine and the increased use of USVs for attacks on shipping, ground targets, and SHORAD missions. In the Red Sea, Saab noted the high volume of combined USV, aerial drone, and cruise missile strikes against commercial shipping and said those strikes have put traditional naval air defenses under extreme pressure. Saab frames the CX’s combination of distributed sensors, weapons and optional uncrewed operation as a response to these littoral challenges.

What this means for the Swedish Amphibious Battalion, littoral navies, and shipbuilders

• Swedish Amphibious Battalion: The CX provides a more heavily armed and sensor‑rich complement to the smaller CB90 NG rather than an immediate replacement—enabling ISR picket lines, over‑the‑horizon strike, or SHORAD pickets while retaining the NG for troop transport and raids.
• Littoral navies operating in contested seas: The CX’s modular mission sets and optional unmanned modes offer a way to distribute detection and strike capabilities across multiple small platforms, including use as picket radar lines and close‑in air defense against drones and USVs.
• Shipbuilders and suppliers: Saab intends concurrent production of CX and NG variants at a new site, and the CX’s modular mission architecture creates demand for radar masts, remote weapon stations, missile canisters, autocannons and drone‑launch solutions.

The CB90 CX is Saab’s effort to move a proven littoral workhorse into a more heavily armed, sensorized, and optionally uncrewed role. The firm has positioned the boat for modern coastal conflicts—citing specific pressures in the Baltic, Black Sea and Red Sea—and has begun production for a 36‑boat Swedish order while the first unit completes acceptance trials. Saab also acknowledges the CX will enter a market where numerous USVs and optionally crewed craft continue to proliferate, leaving open the question of how quickly operators will adopt the new missile options, drone launchers and autonomous tactics Saab has outlined.

Source: TWZ — New CB90 CX Is Bigger, Optionally Crewed Evolution Of Saab’s Proven Combat Boat