The sale of weapons is accompanied by corruption scandals
Finland will purchase 91 armored vehicles with a 6x6 wheel formula from the state company Patria. Recently, this company has been doing very well — profitable contracts have been signed with Latvia and Slovakia, and the search for new buyers is actively underway. And in this regard, Patria is sharply different from most other Finnish enterprises experiencing difficulties due to the economic and social crisis that has fallen on the country. Details are in the material of Izvestia.
Corruption "Patria"
Now that Finland has officially become a member of the NATO bloc, its armed forces are completing integration into the overall structure of the alliance. The Suomi Defense Forces have a strength of 19,250 people (and if you add parts of the border guard, there will be about 22 thousand people). The total mobilization reserve of the Finnish army is 280 thousand people and is always maintained at this level. This is achieved by maintaining the draft in the country, which is held twice a year. Approximately 22 thousand people are called up for military service every year.
In service with the Finnish army in 2023, there were a hundred modern Leopard 2A6 tanks (and about a hundred more Leopard 2A4 tanks in storage). There are also 110 Soviet-made BMP-2MD infantry fighting vehicles and 102 Swedish CV9030FIN. In addition, the Suomi Defense Forces have 142 multi-purpose transporters of different versions. There are also 260 XA-180/185 Sisu armored personnel carriers; 101 XA-202 Sisu; 48 XA-203 Sisu; 62 AMV (XA-360). The most modern of them are cars of the AMV brand. They are produced by the Patria state enterprise, founded in 1997. Patria state-owned company specializes in the production of wheeled combat vehicles, artillery and ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles and the maintenance of this equipment.
Patria XA-360 armored personnel carrier
Image Source: Photo: flickr.com/Sami Nordlund
The main feature of the Patria AMV is its modular design, thanks to which this armored vehicle is produced in various versions — depending on the purpose. The chassis can have a wheel formula of 8x8 or 6x6. The platform can be equipped with a swimming system, a winch and reinforced armor protection. A 25- or 30-millimeter machine gun and a 120-millimeter Patria Nemo mortar can be installed on the machine. The Patria 6x6 accelerates to 100 km/h. Western military experts believe that these armored personnel carriers are in no way inferior to the American Stryker armored personnel carriers. It was Patria—type machines that became a profitable export point for the Finnish military-industrial complex - but this was not always the case.
For the time being, Patria's affairs were, as they say, neither shaky nor loose — because of a dubious reputation, tarnished by corruption scandals that have spilled over to the international level. Thus, in 2006 Patria signed a contract with the Slovenian government for the supply of 135 armored personnel carriers worth €280 million. However, the agreement resulted in a corruption trial involving former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and four others. In 2013, the court found the former prime minister guilty and sentenced him to two years in prison and a fine of €37 thousand. During the proceedings, it turned out that Patria had achieved a lucrative contract due to the fact that it paid €4.6 million in bribes disguised as "consulting fees". As a result, the contract was prematurely terminated — after Patria managed to deliver only 30 units of equipment to the Slovenes.
Investigative measures in the case of bribery of Slovenian government officials led to the dismissal of the company's manager Jorma Viytakorpi on August 18, 2008 and the arrest of several of its employees. In December 2012, Patria's management was charged with corruption and industrial espionage in connection with the Slovenian case. And in parallel with this scandal, another one developed — related to the contract concluded in 2007 with Croatia for the sale of 126 armored personnel carriers. Then the members of the Patria leadership were suspected of having distributed bribes worth €1.5 million to Croatian officials through an Austrian "consultant". It is not surprising that in 2012 the British branch of Transparency International (recognized as undesirable in Russia) published a report in which the leadership of Patria was declared mired in corruption. Patria denied all these accusations — but they seriously undermined the reputation of the company.
Latvian purchase
Patria's business improved a few years ago — when Latvia and Estonia became interested in its products, which decided to start joint purchases of Finnish armored personnel carriers. True, in the fall of 2020, Estonia abandoned this idea, but Latvians turned out to be enthusiastic fans of Patria products. On August 30, 2021, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen signed an agreement with his Latvian counterpart Artis Pabriks that Riga would purchase at least two hundred vehicles from Patria. The contract amount was €200 million — this is one of the most expensive and largest purchases in the history of the Latvian Ministry of Defense.
The parties have been coming to this agreement for several years. Initially, Latvia was going to buy new armored personnel carriers with a 4x4 wheel formula. A competition was announced, during which the Finnish Sisu machine scored the most points. But the losing competitors said that Sisu did not meet the technical requirements of the purchase announced by Riga — and prepared a corresponding complaint. Having considered this complaint, the Latvian State Procurement Supervision Bureau canceled the already approved results of the tender.
Patria AMV
Image Source: Photo: flickr.com / Spc. John Cress Jr.)
However, since the Latvian army still needed armored vehicles, a new competition was announced. Offers were received from twelve countries, but the Latvians again chose Finland — this time Patria 6x6. "This option turned out to be the most interesting for us. They have shown a willingness to reinvest most of the amount that we are investing in this purchase in the Latvian industry," explained Pabriks. That is, the terms of the agreement stipulate that Latvia itself will be able to carry out part of the production of armored personnel carriers purchased by it. For this purpose, a military plant was built in the Latvian city of Cesis.
In fact, the new Patria 6x6 armored platform is a variant of the project proposed in 2016 for the modernization of previously built Pasi HA-180 armored personnel carriers with a 6x6 wheel formula. The HA-180 armored personnel carriers (Pasi) were originally developed by the Finnish company Sisu Auto and have been mass-produced at its enterprise in Hamenlinna since 1984. Since 1999, the production of heavier modified armored personnel carriers of the XA-200 series has been carried out. In total, up to 1.2 thousand machines of the XA series were manufactured by 2004, which were also exported to Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Ireland. In 1997, during the formation of the Patria state group, the Sisu Auto company transferred to her the armored personnel carrier production plant in Hamenlinna — along with all the rights to the XA series cars.
Things are going on, money is being earned
Recently, the Finnish state-owned enterprise has received other customers. On August 30 last year, the head of the Slovak Defense Ministry Jaroslav Nagy announced the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the purchase of 76 Patria AMVXP 8×8 armored vehicles for a total of €447 million. "We have fulfilled all the necessary conditions in order to conclude an open and very profitable contract, thanks to which the Slovak armed forces will receive eight—by-eight armored vehicles, which we have not had so far," Nagy said. According to the Minister, we are talking about 40% participation of Slovak enterprises in the implementation of this order. It is planned that the first vehicles will enter service with the Slovak army in September 2023. This technique should become the basis of a mechanized brigade, which they want to create by 2026.
There is no enterprise left without internal orders. In June 2023, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen instructed to purchase 91 armored transport vehicles with a 6x6 wheel formula from Patria for the needs of the national army. Deliveries of ready-made armored personnel carriers will begin this year. The Finnish Ministry of Defense will also receive spare parts, necessary equipment and assistance in operation and maintenance. "In addition, we have concluded an option agreement, which makes it possible to purchase a maximum of 70 more cars," the ministry said.
Patria XA-300
Image Source: Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The purchase was made within the framework of the international CAVS (Common Armored Vehicle System) project, which also involves Latvia, Sweden and Germany. "Together with Patria, the countries are developing within the framework of this project a system of wheeled armored vehicles that meet the general requirements for the 6x6 armored vehicle platform," the Finnish Defense Ministry said. The Ministry signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with Patria in 2021. The total cost of the purchase, taking into account the option, is € 208 million. "Thanks to this order, the mobility of the army will be increased — at the expense of domestic crew vehicles. They are ideal for Finnish conditions and are very cost—effective throughout the entire life cycle," says Kaikkonen.
Last year, the Finnish Defense Forces have already purchased three pre-production samples from Patria for testing. Over the past time, the servicemen had the opportunity to get acquainted with the features of this equipment and decide how to equip these machines for mass production. According to Patria manager Jussi Jarvinen, the large order made by the Finnish army is an important milestone for the international CAVS project. Currently, Patria is engaged in the serial production of 6x6 machines in Hameenlinna for three countries. "This order of the Defense Forces in Patria is the largest in many decades and therefore is of great importance," explains Jarvinen.
Last spring it became known that Poland would supply Ukraine with at least 200 Rosomak cars. These cars are nothing but a modification of the same Patria AMV. The Polish version differs from the basic Finnish one in that it has weakened armor, which allows the armored car to be used as an amphibious vehicle. In this regard, political scientist Maxim Reva told Izvestia that soon there is a chance to see this technique on the battlefield — broken and mangled. "And this will not be the first time that combat vehicles, one way or another associated with the Finns, will be destroyed. It is enough to recall a recent case with the "Leopards" supplied by Finland to the APU. And the death of the "Wolverines" is capable of shaking the reputation of "Patria", — the political scientist suggested.
Victor Nedelin
