Patria Land Systems is positioning itself to support a number of mid-life upgrade (MLU) programmes for the XA-180 6x6 platform, as several European armies look to modernise the legacy vehicle.
The Finnish army is the first customer to undergo an MLU of its XA-180 fleet, which will extend the life of the vehicles, first produced in 1984, into the 2030s.
In December 2017 a £14 million contract was announced for the upgrade of 65 units, following the completion of similar work to 70 vehicles between 2015 and 2017.
Other users of the Finnish-built armoured personnel carriers (APC) - including Estonia,
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The French and German governments signed an agreement in June 2018 to cooperate on the development of a new main battle tank under the Main Ground Combat System programme but the effort has struggled. This new agreement may damage it further.
The last year has seen several major procurements in the land market. Shephard’s Dr Peter Magill reviews the main trends and themes in land procurement of 2025.
Developed by Israel's Uvision and with systems being sold in the thousands to multiple European NATO countries and the US, the Hero family of loitering systems is also in production in the US and Italy, the latter through Rheinmetall.
The Leopard is becoming the tank of choice in central and eastern Europe as Croatia joins Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary in ordering the platform. Lithuania and Croatia have also signed for CAESAR howitzers.
A new system-of-systems concept will unlock digital integration of sensors and weapons for Light Forces, allowing them to shape the battlefield environment on their own terms and upgrade legacy platforms.
The HX truck is already in use in many NATO and allied countries around the world as a logistics vehicle and carrier for high-value systems, including missile firing weapons, so its use for the Global Mobile Artillery Rocket System makes logistical sense.
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