On Monday, 5 August 2024, Defence Partnership Latvia, a Patria majority-owned joint venture, handed over the first Latvian-made Patria 6×6 armoured personnel carrier to the Latvian Armed Forces in a ceremony at the military base “Ādaži”. By signing a contract with Patria in 2021, the Latvian Ministry of Defence ordered more than 200 Patria 6×6 armoured vehicles for delivery by 2029. This cooperation agreement strengthens the combat capabilities of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) as well as contributes to the development of Latvian defence technological and industrial base. The event was attended by the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia Andris Sprūds, Chairman of the Board of Defence Partnership Latvia and Patria Latvia Uģis Romanovs and Acting Commander of the Home Guard Colonel Gunārs Vizulis.
At the end of May, an armoured personnel carrier production facility was opened in Valmiera, where it is planned to produce approximately thirty Patria 6×6 armoured personnel carriers annually. The Patria armoured vehicle factory in Valmiera is the first and currently the only one in the Baltics. Patria 6×6 vehicle was chosen as the platform for the CAVS programme, participated already by Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Germany. The CAVS-related Patria 6×6 deliveries are ongoing besides to Latvia, also to Finland and Sweden, and vehicles are in operational use. Patria has already received orders for nearly 700 Patria 6×6 vehicles and about 200 have already been delivered. The programme is open to European countries with similar equipment requirements, subject to participating nations’ approval.
“Over the past four years since Latvia’s involvement in the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme, we have reached the most significant milestone of the project – the delivery of the first armoured personnel carrier full-cycle produced in Latvia to the National Armed Forces (NAF). With the opening of the Valmiera plant in May, we are focusing on the Latvian armoured personnel carrier order, but we are also actively working to implement other NAF capability development projects in our factory, thereby strengthening both NAF combat capabilities and the Latvian industry and economy as a whole,” stated Uģis Romanovs, Chairman of the Board of Defence Partnership Latvia and Patria Latvia.
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.
