According to Slovak resources, the first Patria AMVXP armored personnel carrier with an 8x8 wheel formula produced by the Finnish Patria group has been delivered to Slovakia under a 2022 contract for the purchase of 76 vehicles for the Slovak army. The first armored personnel carrier was delivered in a medical version and has yet to be finalized by the Slovak state company KONŠTRUKTA-Defense before being transferred to the Slovak Ministry of Defense.
The first Patria AMVXP (8x8) armored personnel carrier delivered to Slovakia in a medical version produced by the Finnish Patria group, September 2023 (c) Praise The Steph
Recall that on August 30, 2022, the Ministries of Defense of Finland and Slovakia signed an intergovernmental agreement on the acquisition by Slovakia of 76 Patria AMVXP (8x8) armored combat vehicles of the Finnish Patria group. The purchase cost is 447 million euros, including weapons, ammunition, spare parts and technical support. Two relevant executive contracts were also signed with the Patria Group - the Slovak Ministry of Defense and the Slovak company KONŠTRUKTA-Defense. The choice of the Patria AMVXP APC was made following the results of a long-running international competition.
Armored personnel carriers are purchased in three versions - 60 in the linear version, ten in the medical and six in the command and staff. Linear armored personnel carriers should be equipped with a remotely controlled Turra-30 combat module developed by the Slovak company EVPU with a 30 mm GTS-30/A automatic cannon (a licensed version of the Soviet 2A42 cannon produced by the Slovak company ZTS-Špecial), a 7.62mm PKT machine gun and two Rafael/Eurospike Spike-LR ATGM launchers.
According to the terms of the contracts, the first eight cars should be manufactured by Patria and delivered to Slovakia in September 2023. The remaining 68 vehicles should be assembled in Slovakia under the head role of KONŠTRUKTA-Defense from 2024 to 2027. Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nagy said that the total participation of Slovak industry in the program will be 43 percent. Earlier it was reported that the general plans for the purchase by the Slovak army of a family of promising 8x8 armored vehicles extend to 400 units.
Slovakia thus became the first customer of the new version of the Patria AMVXP armored personnel carrier, first introduced by the Patria Group in 2013. The AMVXP differs from the "basic" widely known Patria AMV armored personnel carriers by a higher level of protection, including mine protection. The maximum combat weight of the platform has been increased to 32 tons, and the payload weight can reach 15 tons. The machine is offered by Patria in non-floating (combat weight up to 32 tons) and floating versions (full combat weight up to 28 tons, it was chosen by Slovakia). The AMVXP is declared to be equipped with modular variants of structural protection, as well as the modularity of the hull design, which allows creating various variants of machines on the platform. AMVXP is equipped with a 603 hp Scania diesel engine and a powerful electric generator capable of providing power supply to both special equipment that can be installed on various versions of the machine and equipment of promising infantry equipment.
At the end of 2022, the Japanese Ministry of Defense selected the Patria AMVXP armored personnel carrier in a competition under the Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (WAPC) program for the ground forces of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. AMVXP must be manufactured in Japan under license by Japan Steel Works Corporation.
The first Patria AMVXP (8x8) armored personnel carrier delivered to Slovakia in a medical version produced by the Finnish Patria group, September 2023 (c) Praise The Step
