The Finnish Defence Forces has entered into agreement with Patria to purchase pre-series Patria 6×6 vehicles.
The acquisition is part of the joint 6×6 vehicle programme between Latvia, Finland, Estonia, and Patria.
In December last year, Sweden expressed its desire to join the programme, which seeks to develop a new armoured vehicle system based on the Patria 6×6 armoured vehicles.
The Finnish Defence Forces will use these pre-series vehicles for testing, prior to the final serial order.
In August 2021, Finland and Patria signed a letter of intent (LoI) for the upcoming serial order. The LoI is for 160 new personnel carrier vehicles for Finland in 2023.
Patria Finland division executive vice-president Jussi Järvinen said: “With pre-series testing, the customer can get acquainted with the vehicle, its usage, and operating features comprehensively beforehand, thus ensuring the fluent and effective establishment of operational readiness when the serial order deliveries begin.
“All three vehicles will be delivered to the customer in summer 2022.”
In addition, the company delivered the first Patria 6×6 armoured wheeled vehicles to Latvia in October last year, as part of this joint 6×6 programme.
It will deliver more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers to Latvia, with deliveries scheduled to take place until 2029.
The Patria 6×6 armoured wheeled vehicle offers ground forces with tactical troop transportation capability and advanced protection.
The vehicle is equipped for any combat support role.
In December last year, the Finnish Defence Forces announced that it had signed an agreement for the upgrade of the Leopard 2 main battle tanks’ (MBT) fire control system.
