01 September 2021

Latvia orders 6×6 APCs from Patria

by Nicholas Fiorenza

Latvia signed a contract with Patria on 30 August for more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) under a joint development programme with Finland, the Finnish company announced in a press release the next day.

Latvia signed a EUR200 million contract with Patria on 30 August for over 200 6x6 APCs. (Patria)

Announcing the contract on 27 August on its website before it was signed, the Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) valued the order at about EUR200 million (USD236 million). Patria gave a delivery schedule of between 2021 and 2029, with the Latvian MoD adding that the country's armed forces would receive its first vehicles in October. The contract includes support and training systems.

Finland, Latvia, and Patria also signed a framework for the production phase management of the joint 6×6 armoured vehicle system, which the company expected to achieve “technical and economic benefits from the overall procurement scope of the programme”.

In addition, Finland and Patria signed a letter of intent (LOI) for 160 new APCs in 2023, the Finnish MoD announced in a press release on 30 August. The Latvian MoD expected procurement negotations to begin with Sweden this month. The ministry and Patria said the programme is open to other allied countries. The common vehicle system will improve the mobility, cost-effectiveness, interoperability, and security of supply of armies in participating countries, according to Patria.

The Latvian MoD said local companies would be involved in the project, with maintenance, repair, and possible future modernisation of the vehicles taking place in Latvia. The ministry views the project as an investment in the Latvian economy ensuring security of supply, which was one of Latvia's preconditions for launching the research and development phase for the vehicle.

Latvia signed a contract with Patria on 30 August for more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers ...

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