Patria unveils their new ARVE prototype self-propelled howitzer

Patria unveiled their new ARVE self-propelled howitzer (SPH) prototype, on 18 March 2025, during Patria’s Arctic Event 2025, taking place outside Rovaniemi in northern Finland. The company’s new solution joins a growing roster of European ‘gun-on-a-truck’ designs.

The ARVE is a new prototype SPH in development by Patria. The armament is derived from the Finnish 155 GH 52 (known as the 155 K 98 in Finnish service) semi-mobile towed howitzer. The prototype ARVE shown essentially comprised the 155 mm L52 howitzer taken from the 155 GH 52 mated to a Sisu E13TP 8×8 truck.

The complete prototype vehicle is 11.5 m long, 2.6 m wide, and 3.5 m in height, with a ground clearance of 0.4 m, and a maximum combat weight of 28 tonnes. The Sisu E13TP host vehicle is provided with a 500 hp engine coupled to an automatic transmission, and carries 400 litres of fuel, permitting a top speed of 100 km/h and a cruising range of 600 km. In terms of mobility, it is capable of overcoming 30° gradients and navigating 30° side slopes, as well as fording water obstacles up to 1 m in depth without preparation.

In terms of capabilities, the prototype version has a maximum range of 40 km (understood to refer to when using base bleed ammunition), and is capable of attaining a maximum rate of fire of 8 rds/min, a burst rate of fire of three rounds in 15 seconds, and a sustained rate of fire of 2 rds/min. The vehicle holds 24 complete rounds along with their charges. The gun is manually laid, capable of elevation between -3° to +60°, and capable of indirect fire at traverse angles of +12° to +60° and -90° to +50°; alternatively, in direct fire mode, the gun can fire at traverse angles of -60° to -90°. The gun is manually loaded, with flick rammer assistance. The vehicle is manned by six crew, and can be made ready to fire within 90 seconds of stopping, and be made ready to move within 45 seconds after a fire mission.

However, according to Patria, the integration of automatic gun laying, along with automatic loading, and computerised fire control are all development targets for the ARVE. As such, the prototype’s specifications, technical characteristics, and crewing requirements may change rather significantly with the arrival of the production version, along with the external appearance. As such, the prototype presented by Patria should perhaps more accurately be described as an indication of the direction Patria is heading in, rather than a near-final product. The aforementioned development targets have become common among many vehicles in the wheeled SPH space.

Born into market headwinds

While the new howitzer appears to be broadly aligned with modern wheeled SPH technological trends, nonetheless, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that this solution is stepping into a highly oversaturated market in which it will be difficult to compete. As a case in point, in Europe alone, ‘gun-on-a-truck’ style SPHs are extremely common, with a long list of competitors including: BAE Systems’ Archer, KNDS France’s CAESAR MkI/Mk II, Excalibur Army’s Morana and DITA/DANA, Konstrukta Defence’s EVA/EVA M2 and Zuzana 2, RMMV’s Wheeled Self-Propelled Howitzer, and the Yugoimport Nora B-52. Many of these have already established noteworthy user bases, upgrade paths, and partnerships, all of which could prove a more tempting prospect at the European level at a time where greater commonality and standardisation among member states is being heavily encouraged.

Moreover, this list does not include medium-weight wheeled artillery vehicles which have emerged more recently and have started competing with gun-on-a-truck designs, such as the GDELS Piranha HMC AGM, or the KNDS/Rheinmetall Boxer RCH 155. Neither does it include the various other options available from EU neighbours Turkey and Ukraine, nor global competitors from China, Israel, Russia, South Korea, and the US. All told, the wheeled artillery segment is getting extremely crowded, and adding yet another entrant into this category seems somewhat questionable.

When expanded further to also include the tracked SPH segment, the competition becomes fiercer still. Indeed, the Finnish Army has previously acquired the Hanwha K9 Thunder tracked SPH, under an initial purchase for 48 units in 2017, followed by supplementary purchases of 10 more in 2021 and a further 38 in 2022.

Having said that, it is plausible that the envisioned niche or use case may justify ARVE purchases. Here, the most obvious use case would be as a likely upgrade for the Finnish Army’s artillery units, allowing them to transition away from their in-service 155 K 98 towed howitzers. Comparatively, the ARVE would provide them with modern conveniences such as automated fire control, along with greater operational and tactical mobility, as well as the ability to fire and reposition much more quickly than the 155 K 98 allows. Retaining the same gun would also allow much of the training, maintenance and spares to remain relevant, as such potentially allowing the upgrade to represent a lower uplift to through-life costs than competitors. This would make sense in Finland’s case, if joining the growing global trend of moving away from towed artillery is seen as a priority.

However, the wider export market may represent a greater challenge, given that the only other known user of the 155 GH 52 is Egypt. According to The Military Balance 2024, the country was recorded as operating around 16 such howitzers; reportedly these were license-produced by Egypt’s Abu Zabaal Engineering Industries.

Only time will tell how Patria’s ARVE platform is received, but given the sheer number of competitors in the artillery space, breaking through to enjoy a position among the major players in this market is unlikely to be an simple prospect.