Another new development by the Finnish Patria group that aroused wide interest was the Arctic Event 2025 tracked multi-purpose armored platform, created as part of the FAMOUS European program and representing a kind of reincarnation at a new technical level of the massive Soviet tracked armored tractor MT, which was held from March 17 to 19, 2025 in Finland in Rovaniemi, Lapland.LB. [...] Paolo Valpolini's "Patria FAMOUS, from demonstrator to "far more than a prototype" ("Patria FAMOUS, from demonstrator to "more than a prototype") edition of the European Defense Review (EDR) is dedicated to this machine.
The first prototype of the Patria FAMOUS tracked multipurpose armored platform. Rovaniemi, March 2025 (c) Paolo Valpolini / www.edrmagazine.eu
The star of the Arctic Event 2025 organized by Patria was undoubtedly the FAMOUS, a light armored tracked vehicle, the conceptual model of which was first demonstrated at the Eurosatory 2024 exhibition in Paris, and the prototype was presented at the end of February 2025 in time for the annual winter event of the Finnish defense company. Patria is the coordinator of the European Future Highly Mobile Augmented Armored Systems (FAMOUS) program, which currently includes 35 companies from nine countries, including Finland, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia and Spain.
Although the winter was relatively mild, the Rowayarvi training ground was covered with deep snow, which is a natural habitat for a machine like the one created under the FAMOUS program. As you can see, now that this 24-month project, which is part of the European Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP), adopted in 2020, has been completed, the various companies in the team can freely use what was created over two years of collaboration. To this end, Patria, as the main player, is currently continuing to develop this machine in order to add it to its portfolio as the only tracked vehicle among its numerous wheeled counterparts.
"We hope that the FAMOUS tracked vehicle under development will be our next breakthrough product," Jukka Holkeri, executive vice president of Patria's global division, told EDR. "Obviously, there is a need for this type of mobility, especially in regions like Lapland, where we are currently at the Patria Arctic Event," he continued, adding that such mobility may be needed in other countries. "We must also take into account that a significant number of tracked vehicles need to be replaced in Europe, starting with the M113," Holkeri said, stressing that in many countries it is also necessary to write off Soviet/Russian MT-LB vehicles.
"The MT-LB is much lower than the M113 and therefore much more difficult to detect, and with the FAMOUS we are in the middle in height, but with ergonomics that are definitely better than the MT-LB." The increased interest in the Arctic region may well make FAMOUS the new breakthrough product that Holkeri craves. And this machine will soon have a name, which will probably be presented during the official presentation of the platform, which is scheduled for September next year at the DSEI exhibition in London. As you can see, the company is holding an internal competition to choose this name.
"In fact, what we see in front of us is much more than a prototype, although I will not disclose the Technology Readiness Level," Timo Mennala, director of the FAMOUS program at the Patria group, said in an interview with EDR during an inspection of this machine at the end of the demonstration. during which the new platform worked together with numerous other products of the Finnish company.
In Paris, at the Eurosatory 2024 exhibition, only data on the total weight of the machine - 15 tons and payload - 3.5 tons were provided. Now that the machine is about to become a mass-produced product, more data is available. The length of the light armored tracked vehicle is 7.2 meters, width is 2.9 meters, roof height is 2 meters, ground clearance is 0.5 meters (which is important both for protection from mines and for mobility in snowy and muddy terrain). The actual engine power is higher than it was announced in Paris, and is 269 versus 250 kW (360 versus 335 hp). The 7-liter Caterpillar six-cylinder engine is interlocked with the Renk transmission. "The required speed was 80 km/h, but we had already reached 88 km/h in good grip conditions," Mennala said.
Many believe that there are similarities in terms of chassis between the Patria wheeled vehicles and the new all-terrain vehicle.; "This is incorrect," said Mennala, "because in our 6x6 wheeled APC, we have the body mounted on a separate subframe, while here we have a typical tracked vehicle chassis. However, the basic design of the hull is similar to the Patria wheeled vehicles."
The automotional elements are key to achieving mobility characteristics. The new Patria tracked vehicle is equipped with Soucy rubber tracks, however other solutions are also under development. Her pendant (the characteristics of which were hidden in Paris) is now described in detail. "We have been testing the chosen suspension and track design for several years," said Mennala, "and we still had some testing and evaluation going on during Eurosatory. Each roller has an independent suspension due to a hydropneumatic shock absorber and a crankshaft extending from the body. The reason for adopting this solution instead of the classic torsion bars is that it allows us to save weight and have more ground clearance. It also allows you to adjust the height of the suspension, optimizing it according to the terrain in which the vehicle operates," Mennala said.
After the Arctic Event 2025, the car, which covered about 300 km in the first few weeks after rolling out, will remain in Rowayarvi for two weeks for further testing in deep snow conditions. "As soon as the event is over, we will begin our joint tests with the Finnish Defense Forces, and we plan that the second vehicle will be available next fall," said the program manager, adding that a third prototype vehicle will also be manufactured. As you can see, minor changes are possible based on the test results, but Patria is confident that the level achieved during the FAMOUS development phase should minimize them. Discussions are ongoing about what type of weapons should be installed. The first machine shown at the event was equipped with a power-driven ring installation provided by the Danish company SIMA Innovation, and equipped with a set of armor protection for the shooter and armed with a 20 mm KNDS France M621 cannon.
Tests of the machine designed to work on soft ground will take place on muddy soil immediately after snowfall, which should be one of the most severe cases in terms of specific pressure on the ground for such a platform. "At maximum combat weight, we have a specific pressure on the ground of about 32 kilopascals. However, while conducting tests with our mobility demonstrators, we found out that this is not the only thing that matters when working on soft ground, the other two key things are the center of gravity and the angle of entry. We did a lot of testing in the swamp last fall, and we found that the best position for the car is a slightly raised front end. It's wonderful that it also works when driving in reverse. For example, we drove through a very soft swamp more than 10 times, moving on our tracks, which you are taught not to do, and the results were very encouraging. To make sure we have a clean track, we added a scraper at the front, next to the drive wheel, which removes most of the snow, mud or gravel," said Mennala.
When asked why the results of the FAMOUS program are ahead of other types of all-terrain vehicles in terms of cross-country capability, the program manager stated that the EDIDP program allowed combining the best practices and best characteristics of two completely different types of vehicles - articulated two-link four-track and traditional two-track vehicles, without going into details. "The machine itself is quite simple, and it was our philosophy to ensure good durability and meet the cost/efficiency criteria."
As usual, they were not allowed to photograph the car inside, but we saw that the driver has a fully "digital cockpit" inherited from the Patria armored wheeled vehicles, and there is also a good view from the front and side thanks to a large full-width one-piece windshield and a slanted small side window.
Various types of ring installations and remotely controlled combat modules, as well as heavier systems, are being considered for installation on weapons vehicles. "We believe we can equip the car with a NEMO mortar turret," Mennala told us. The Patria NEMO 120mm turret mortar has a mass of about 1.2 tons, depending on the configuration. The internal volume, however, is likely to be a problem, since this system, installed on the Patria 6x6 APC, allows you to accommodate a crew of two people and 40 shots, and the space in the FAMOUS is in the same class, but slightly smaller.
As it was said initially, the payload of the machine is about 3.5 tons. "This vehicle was not designed to become an infantry fighting vehicle," explains the program manager, "We are aiming for an armored personnel carrier that can be equipped with a 12.7mm machine gun, either in a ring mount, as we have here, or in a remote-controlled weapons module. However, the payload would allow us to increase protection from the basic Level 1 to Level 2, but this remains an option that we can offer, rather than a standard solution," he emphasizes. Given the permissible mass, it would be possible to consider installing a remote-controlled weapon module with a 30x113mm cannon.
The next update on this project will be released in less than six months, when we will finally find out the name of the machine and try to provide you with the results of the first half of its testing.
The first prototype of the Patria FAMOUS tracked multipurpose armored platform. Rovaniemi, March 2025 (c) Paolo Valpolini / www.edrmagazine.eu
