First pre-series Patria 6×6 to parade at Finnish Defence Forces’ flag day
The first Patria 6×6 pre-series vehicle will be seen at the parade of the Finnish Defence Forces’ Flag Day parade that will take place on June 4, 2022, in Helsinki.
In January 2022, the Finnish Defense Forces ordered three pre-series vehicles as part of a joint 6×6 vehicle program between Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Patria. The pre-series vehicles will be in test use of the Finnish Defence Forces before the final serial order. Pre-series vehicles will be delivered to the Finnish Defence Forces in June. The serial production of Finland’s vehicles is scheduled to be started in 2023.
The joint 6×6 program is progressing on schedule and is also attracting interest from potential new participating countries. Sweden has officially joined the program after signing Research and
Development Agreement on 1st of June 2022. In Latvia, several vehicles are already in use by the army and serial production is progressing as planned. The Latvian National Armed Forces have participated in international military exercises with Patria 6×6 vehicles, most recently the Arrow 2022 exercise held in Finland.
Patria has developed its new 6×6 armored vehicle as a successor for the Patria XA-series 6×6 Pasi armored personnel carrier. The new vehicle will be developed in collaboration with Finland, Latvia and Estonia. In August 2021, Patria signed a contract with Latvia for the supply of more than 200 6×6 armored personnel carriers under the joint development program. The company has also signed a letter. of intent with Finland for a potential serial order of 6×6 vehicles.
The new Patria 6×6 armored has been designed using components of the Patria 8×8 armored which is in service with many countries all over the world. It has modular armor providing ballistic protection STANAG level 2 that can be upgraded to Level 4. As APC (Armored Personnel Carrier), the Patria 6×6 vehicle has a crew of three and can accommodate up to 10 soldiers.
The Patria 6×6 is motorized with a 5-cylinder, inline, turbocharged diesel engine developing a power output of 294kW. The vehicle can run at a maximum road speed of 100 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 700 km.