Latvia receives first Patria 6x6 vehicles under joint programme with Finland

Finnish company Patria has announced on 29 October that it has delivered the first 6x6 armoured wheeled vehicles to Latvia under a collaborative programme with Finland.

Jussi Järvinen, president of the land business unit in Patria, said that the programme is on schedule and this handover ‘will build even more confidence’ towards in the joint effort and increase interest from other countries in the 6x6 platform.

A week before the handover of the vehicles, user training of the 6x6 vehicle was completed at the Patria facility in Hämeenlinna, where soldiers from the Latvian National Armed Forces participated in a two-week user, instructor and maintenance training course.

Latvia has procured more than 200 6x6 armoured personnel carriers and Finland intends to order 160 units in 2023. 

Patria did not disclose details on the number of the vehicles that were handed over to Latvia.

In 2020, Finland and Latvia agreed on a joint development programme to improve the mobility of their ground forces. The aim was to develop a new armoured vehicle system based on the Patria 6x6 armoured vehicle.

In August 2021, the two countries signed a Frame Agreement for production phase management and Sweden has announced its intention to join the programme.