Sweden receives first batch of Patria 6x6 APCs
Sweden intends to ultimately acquire over 200 Patria 6x6 vehicles. (Photo: FMV)
The Patria 6x6 is being developed as a common base platform for the Estonian, Finnish and Latvian armed forces, all of which require a new protected mobility vehicle, with Sweden ordering an initial 20.
The Swedish Army received its first batch of new Patria six-wheeled armoured vehicles on 26 October with the official handover ceremony at the Ground Combat School in Kvarn.
Apart from Sweden, Patria’s 6x6 solution is already in use in Finland and Latvia, and Germany has joined the Patria 6x6-based Common Armoured Vehicle System programme.
The vehicles were manufactured in Finland with significant subsystem content from Swedish companies and are designated Pansarterrängbil 300 in Swedish service.
In June 2022, Sweden signed an agreement with Patria for the research and product development phase and in April 2023 Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration ordered 20 pre-series vehicles, against an overall requirement for at least 200.
The vehicle provides baseline NATO STANAG 4560 Level 2 ballistic protection which can be increased to Level 4 and the basic level of mine/IED protection can also be increased up to Level 4, offering protection against a 10kg mine blast.
The Patria 6x6 APC is estimated by Shephard Defence Insight to have a unit cost of $US1.066 million. This has been calculated from the Latvian contract by subtracting 10% of its value to account for support costs and dividing the remainder by 200 vehicles.
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