The Latvian Army has received its first Mednieks infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), a locally adapted version of the Spanish ASCOD 2 platform that was previously offered to Ukraine. The delivery took place 22 months after Latvia signed the contract.
The Latvian Ministry of Defense announced that the first locally adapted armored vehicle has entered service with the Latvian Armed Forces. It is noted that the country is set to receive 84 such IFVs by 2029.
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From Defense Express we would like to note that this marks the beginning of Latvia's deployment of tracked infantry fighting vehicles. Currently, Latvia's armored vehicle fleet includes vehicles from the CVR(T) family and Patria 6×6 wheeled armored personnel carriers.
Latvia ordered the ASCOD 2 in November 2024, with a €373 million contract for the first 42 vehicles signed in January 2025. Six months later, in June, another 42 units were ordered for €387 million.
It was later revealed that the IFV would be designated Mednieks (Hunter) and fitted with an Israeli Elbit UT30 MK turret armed with a 30 mm automatic cannon. Around 30% of production will be localized in Latvia, including final assembly.
In June 2026, a year and a half after the contract was signed, the first ASCOD 2 base platform, without its turret, arrived in Latvia. This means it took Latvia's defense industry approximately four months to complete the work and deliver the vehicle to the military.
Overall, Latvia received its first new IFV relatively quickly—less than two years after signing the contract. By comparison, the Czech Republic and Slovakia ordered Swedish CV90s in spring 2023, with the first vehicles rolling off the assembly line in the second half of 2025 and deliveries scheduled for 2026.
It is worth noting that Estonia is already operating CV90s, while Lithuania and several Scandinavian countries have also selected the Swedish platform. Latvia's decision to choose the ASCOD 2 therefore represents a different approach to standardizing its tracked IFV fleet. The ASCOD platform had also previously been offered to Ukraine
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