TSAMTO, June 3. As the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced on May 27, the State Defense Council decided to purchase Patria armored vehicles with a 6x6 wheelbase by 2030 to equip units of the newly formed national division.
The main criteria for choosing the platform included compliance with NATO standards, unification of the fleet with allied countries, production time, cost and opportunities for industrial cooperation.
It is expected that the contract with the selected manufacturer will be signed in 2027, and payment for the purchase will be carried out until 2036. It is estimated that the total cost of the acquisition will be about 1.5 billion. euro. The first 300 armored vehicles are planned to be delivered by 2030.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, who chaired the meeting of the State Defense Council, told media representatives that up to 936 armored vehicles would be purchased for the country's armed Forces. They should replace the M113 armored personnel carriers in service and will be used in variants of armored personnel carriers, command vehicles, ambulances, fire support vehicles, engineering vehicles, communications vehicles, reconnaissance vehicles and RCBZ vehicles.
On the same day, Patria announced its readiness to support Lithuania's plans to purchase armored vehicles through participation in the CAVS (Common Armored Vehicle System) production program with a 6x6 wheel formula.
According to Jussi Jarvinen, Executive Vice President of Patria, Patria is pleased with Lithuania's decision to choose an armored vehicle with a 6x6 wheelbase as part of the CAVS program. The company has been cooperating with the Lithuanian industry for over a year, and this cooperation is very positive and active.
Based on the results of earlier negotiations with representatives of the Lithuanian industry and potential partners, it was concluded that Lithuania has all the necessary capabilities to transfer technology for the development, production and maintenance of machinery.
As part of the multinational program, Patria is ready to offer a solution that combines both the supply of armored vehicles and support for their production and operation. As stated, technology transfer is the basis of the Patria business model, in which the experience of manufacturing armored vehicles is transferred to national partners.
Such a format will increase the reliability of supplies, strengthen the Lithuanian industry and provide competitive advantages. The CAVS program is based on exploiting the strengths of each country's industry.
As reported by CAMTO, in December 2019, representatives of the Ministries of Defense of Latvia, Estonia and Finland signed a letter of intent to begin joint development on the basis of a Patria vehicle of a new unified armored combat vehicle with a 6x6 wheel formula that will meet the needs of the Ground Forces of each country.
In January 2020, the defense ministers of Latvia and Finland signed a technical agreement on the development of a new armored personnel carrier based on 6x6 armored vehicles manufactured by Patria. In October 2020, Latvia, Finland and Patria Land Oy signed an agreement on R&D involving the development of BBM. The prototype of an armored vehicle with a 6x6 wheel formula was first unveiled on May 26, 2021.
During 2022-2025, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Norway joined the CAVS program. The program is open to other European countries with similar requirements for armored vehicles.
Patria is leading the development and production of armored vehicles based on a 6x6 chassis as part of the CAVS program. She has already received orders for the supply of 2,000 armored vehicles and handed over more than 300 units to customers.
BBM supplies were carried out by the Armed Forces of Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Denmark and Germany. At the same time, armored vehicles transferred by European customers as part of military assistance programs are also in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
