Finnish defence manufacturer Patria has received a contract from the Swedish Defence Procurement Agency (FMV) for the purchase of 20 Patria 6×6 armoured vehicles, the company announced on 17 April 2023.
The first examples of the Patria 6×6, which will be known is Swedish service as the Pansarterrängbil 300, will be delivered in 2023.
The Patria 6×6 has been chosen as the platform for the Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) collaborative programme between Finland, Latvia, Sweden and Germany. Deliveries to Latvia have been ongoing since the end of 2021 and Finland received its pre-series vehicles in the summer of 2022. Sweden joined the 6×6 research and development programme in 2022 and the deliveries this year will be the first steps to meet a Swedish demand for several hundred vehicles throughout the 2020s.
The Patria 6×6/CAVS has a maximum combat weight of 24 tonnes, a maximum payload of 8,500 kg and in its armoured personnel carrier (APC) configuration can carry up to 10 soldiers in the rear plus a crew of two in the front cabin. Powered by a Scania DC 09 diesel engine developing 294 kW, the vehicle has a maximum speed of more than 100 km/h on land, up to 8 km/h in water and a range greater than 700 km.
While the vehicle has STANAG Level 2 ballistic and mine protection as standard, this can be increased to STANAG Level 4 if required.
Beyond its basic role as an APC, the Patria 6×6/CAVS can be configured for a variety of other roles, such as a command vehicle, medical evacuation vehicle, heavy APC or as a carrier for the 120 mm Patria Nemo mortar system.
The vehicle has also been designed to have low through-life costs throughout a service live of more than 30 years, according to Patria.
Peter Felstead
