Finland purchases additional Patria 6×6 armored personnel carriers

5 January, 2024 Patria 6x6 armored personnel carrier during testing. Photo credits: Patria The Ministry of Defense of Finland purchases more Patria 6x6 armored personnel carriers by redeeming the additional purchase option.

This was reported by the official website of Patria. As part of the purchase option, Finnish Defense Forces are ordering 40 additional Patria 6x6 armored personnel carriers as part of the multinational CAVS (Common Armored Vehicle System) program. This means that in addition to Finland itself, Latvia, Sweden, and Germany are joining the procurement of armored personnel carriers of this type.

Patria 6x6 armored personnel carrier of Finnish Defense Forces.

Photo from the network

Previously, Finnish Defense Forces signed an agreement for the purchase of the 91st Patria 6x6 armored personnel carrier. The agreement also included a purchase option for up to 70 vehicles. Using this opportunity, Finnish Defence Forces now redeemed 40 armored personnel carriers to be transferred to the Finnish Defence Forces Logistic Command.

The first tens of vehicles have already been handed over to the Pori brigade where the vehicle operation training for conscripts will start in the beginning of 2024. As Militarnyi previously reported, the production of hulls for Patria 6x6 wheeled armored personnel carriers was launched in Latvia. The Latvian company EMJ Metals SIA, which received production rights from the Finnish company Patria, is conducting the manufacturing.

The company was certified for the independent production of APC hulls without the involvement of specialists from Finland, thus confirming the successful transfer of the relevant technologies.

Patria 6x6

The armored personnel carrier was developed in 2021 to equip units with wheeled armored vehicles that will provide better operational capabilities.

Patria 6x6 armored personnel carrier during the parade.

Photo from the open sources

With a weight of 24 tons, the vehicle's level of protection meets the STANAG 4569 level K2 standard that provides protection against 7.62 mm armor-piercing bullets, structural resistance to 6 kg of explosives, and protection against fragments of 155mm artillery shells at a distance of more than 80 meters.

For self-defense, the APC can be equipped with a 5.56mm, 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine gun or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher.