Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) has signed a contract with Patria for the delivery of PROTECTOR remote weapon stations on more than 300 Patria vehicles that the Finnish company is delivering to Sweden and Finland. The contract has a value of about NOK 1.2 billion. KONGSBERG will deliver its PROTECTOR RS4 weapon stations to Patria’s Common Armoured Vehicle Systems (CAVS), which is a well protected and highly mobile modular 6×6 vehicle. Patria announced on 20 March a contract to deliver 321 such CAVS vehicles to the Swedish armed forces. Deliveries will begin from 2025 and last into the 2030s.
“This agreement enables a unique opportunity to deliver weapon systems to serve the needs of multiple countries under one contract and is yet another milestone for the international CAVS programme. The efficiency and system unity benefits between the partner nations are unprecedented and were already utilized in the cooperation during the development phase,” said Esa Rautalinko, President and CEO of Patria.
“At KONGSBERG, we are pleased to be working closely with Patria to strengthen the defence capabilities of Sweden and Finland. The selection of common military equipment among Nordic countries ensures military interoperability and increased logistical efficiency. It also strengthens industry cooperation in support of NATO’s vision for interchangeability of equipment and security of supply,” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.
The Patria 6×6 vehicle was chosen as the platform for the CAVS collaboration programme between several European countries in 2021. CAVS-related Patria 6×6 deliveries are ongoing to Latvia, Finland and Sweden, and vehicles are in operational use. Germany joined the programme in April 2023. The PROTECTOR RS4 is designed and built for operation in harsh conditions, with capabilities that allow soldiers to operate from a protected position using stabilized precision optics and laser to observe and detect targets. KONGSBERG is the world’s leading provider of Remote Weapon Systems (RWS) and has to date delivered more than 20.000 PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Systems to 28 nations.
Patria is an international provider of defence, security and aviation life cycle support services, technology solutions and pilot training. Patria provides its aerospace and military customers with equipment availability, continuous performance development as well as selected intelligence, surveillance and management system products and services. Patria’s mission is to give its customers confidence in all conditions, and the vision is to be the #1 partner for critical operations on land, sea and air. Patria has several locations including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia and Spain. Patria employs over 3,000 professionals. Patria is owned by the State of Finland (50.1%) and Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (49.9%). Patria owns 50% of Nammo, and together these three companies form a leading Nordic defence partnership.
