Finland’s Patria and UK-based Babcock International Group announced on 22 January 2025 that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to present the Patria 6×6 vehicle platform as a potential solution for the Medium Protected Mobility (Med PM) category of the British Army’s Land Mobility Programme (LMP).
According to the MoU, Patria will lead the design and development of bespoke enhancements to the existing 6×6 platform to address UK requirements, while Babcock will provide a solution to locally build the vehicle at scale, in line with the Land Industrial Strategy of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), as well as provide a platform support package that will maintain the vehicle’s operational readiness throughout its lifecycle.
Selection of the vehicle by the British Army could see the UK joining the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle Systems (CAVS) programme, which is based on the Patria 6×6. A joint development programme for CAVS was established by Finland and Latvia in 2020 and subsequently joined by Sweden and Germany.
LMP’s Med PM category is intended by the UK MoD to be fulfilled by a solution that builds on ‘existing capability’.
Presenting at Defence iQ’s International Armoured Vehicles Conference at Farnborough in the UK on 21 January 2025, Jouko Jantunen, Programme Director Army at Patria, noted that the CAVS programme has put more than 800 vehicles under contract, of which it has delivered more than 200.
While the modular Patria 6×6 can be configured to address a number of roles, Jantunen noted that the Patria 6×6 is essentially a transport vehicle and that the general commonality of the Patria 6×6 platform across multiple users is what delivers key reductions in procurement and lifecycle costs. The vehicle uses commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) parts as much as possible, as well as proven components taken from Patria’s previous XA-series and Armoured Modular Vehicle 9AMV) developments.
The Patria 6×6 initially has NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2 armoured protection, which can be enhanced up to Level 4. Jantunen said the vehicle’s seven-speed automatic transmission, single-speed transfer case and efficient retarder allows it to directly move offroad without any need to switch into a different driving mode. Featuring all-wheel drive, a central tire inflation system, differential locks, steering from the front two axles and a fully independent suspension, the Patria 6×6 has a high degree of mobility in rough terrain. Driven by a diesel powerplant offering 294 kW, it has a maximum road speed in excess of 100 km/h and a road range of more than 700 km, can ford water up to 1.5 m deep and can optionally be made amphibious.
With a length of 7.7 m, and a maximum combat weight of 24,000 kg, the Patria 6×6 has a maximum payload of 8,500 kg; it can carry up to 10 soldiers in addition to a crew of two.
