Defence Turkey: First of all could you please brief us on the general structure, growth

process, mission and vision of Patria Group? What are the main products and capabilities?





Patria is a defence and aerospace Group whose products and services combine the best knowledge and expertise of the Group and its partners. Patria delivers its solutions to its strategic partner, the Finnish Defence Forces, and to the international market. Patria’s key business areas are; Armoured wheeled vehicles, mortar

systems, ammunition products in cooperation

with Nammo and their life cycle support services , Life cycle support and training services for military aircraft and helicopters, Development and integration of systems for command and control and situational awareness together with the other key business areas . Our vision is to be a defence and aerospace Group basing our business on a deep understanding of our customers’ needs and operations, to have unique capability to develop and apply our competencies and new technologies in meeting customers’ needs, together with our partners, to provide our customers with advanced products and

services giving the best value and performance

over their whole life-span. Patria is putting quite a lot effort on Land Systems and in particular there the Patria AMV, Armoured Modular

Vehicle and Nemo, ,single barrel mortar system, are Patria’s spearhead products. During 2006 we invested also in the ammunition manufacturing

by acquiring 50 % of Norwegian PATRIA HAS BECOME AN EXPERT BY TRANSFERRING ITS TECHNOLOGY TO LOCAL MARKETS. Patria, one of the leading manufacturers of Armoured Wheeled vehicles and mortar systems, is focusing strongly on internationalization and growth recently. Within this scope Patria has received significant achievements in Poland, Slovenia and South Africa. Hema Industry and Patria have signed a technical cooperation contract regarding manufacturing Patria AMV in Turkey. Within light of the above, Defence Turkey interviewed Jorma Wiitakorpi , CEO of Patria where by he discussed Patria’s upcoming strategies

internationalization and growth objectives and the activities in Turkey. Nammo. In general in the European military business we are still in the beginning of the consolidation path, there is a lot to do concerning the streamlining of the military industry.



Defence Turkey: It is known that Patria AMV is one of the few wheeled vehicles in the world

capable of carrying heavy weapon systems like 105 mm turretswithout reducing the mobilityof the vehicle. Could youplease inform us about the technicalcapabilities of Patria AMVArmoured Modular Vehicles?



Just with a couple of words Patria AMV is rugged vehicle having the shoulders to carry a high payload which is essential in order to have

superior protection and growth potential. It is in serial production with over 200 AMV vehicles delivered up to date. Our AMV has gained outstanding test results in numerous vehicle field tests all over the world, not to mention the great success in international vehicle procurement programs. Patria AMV is the choice of demanding customers in Finland, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa and now also Croatia. Also at present Patria AMV participates in several international procurement programs. The armoured wheeled vehicle for the Turkish Army will be a Turkish vehicle even though being based on Patria AMV. Hema Endustri will be the prime contractor supported by Patria. WithPatria AMV 8x8 vehicle you have more capacity and growth potential for the future as well as added value for your investment compared to any 6x6

–vehicles. Our customers in Poland and Croatia dropped out the 6x6 vehicle versions. Patria AMV is a rugged vehicle for toughest environment with

superior mobility and this ability has beentested in extremely cold and hot climate. The vehicle is easy to operate and learn even to the newcomers, which do not have previous experience. Patria AMV is not a prototype, it

is in serial production with more than 1200 vehicles ordered and some 200 vehicles already delivered to the customer. In today’s crisis situations protection is of utmost importance. Patria AMV gives protection for your crew, the vehicle fulfils the highest standards against land mines, tested by the customer in South Africa, and the vehicle has the capacity to carry the add-on ballistic protection specified by the customer. For Patria AMV it is always advantageous if there will be a comparative testing arranged. AMV has done it extremely well in the tests like for instance in Kuwait and Malaysia. You have also all the different proven

versions available – reconnaissance, NBC, mortar, ambulance etc. Together with Hema Endustri Patria will take into account the special needs of Turkish Army in the prototype phase. Hema and Patria will work in close cooperation exchanging engineering personnel etc. The companies are going to work together throughout the project from the design up to the delivery. Concerning the vehicle simulators are open for discussions and further willing to establish co-operation with Turkish simulator provider.



Just with a couple of words Patria

AMV is rugged vehicle having the

shoulders to carry a high payload,

which is essential in order to have

superior protection and growth potential.

It is in serial production with over

200 AMV vehicles delivered up to date.

Our AMV has gained outstanding test

results in numerous vehicle field tests

all over the world, not to mention the

great success in international vehicle

procurement programs. Patria AMV is

the choice of demanding customers in

Finland, Poland, Slovenia, South

Africa and now also Croatia. Also at

present Patria AMV participates in

several international procurement

programs.

The armoured wheeled vehicle for the

Turkish Army will be a Turkish vehicle

even though being based on Patria

AMV. Hema Endustri will be the prime

contractor supported by Patria. With

Patria AMV 8x8 vehicle you have more

capacity and growth potential for the

future as well as added value for your

investment compared to any 6x6

–vehicles. Our customers in Poland

and Croatia dropped out the 6x6 vehicle

versions. Patria AMV is a rugged

vehicle for toughest environment with

superior mobility and this ability has

been tested in extremely cold and hot

climate. The vehicle is easy to operate

and learn even to the newcomers,

which do not have previous experience.

Patria AMV is not a prototype, it

is in serial production with more than

1200 vehicles ordered and some 200

vehicles already delivered to the customer.

In today’s crisis situations protection

is of utmost importance. Patria

AMV gives protection for your crew,

the vehicle fulfils the highest standards

against land mines, tested by the customer

in South Africa, and the vehicle

has the capacity to carry the add-on

ballistic protection specified by the

customer. For Patria AMV it is always

advantageous if there will be a comparative

testing arranged. AMV has done

it extremely well in the tests like for

instance in Kuwait and Malaysia.

You have also all the different proven

versions available – reconnaissance,

NBC, mortar, ambulance etc. Together

with Hema Endustri Patria will take

into account the special needs of

Turkish Army in the prototype phase.

Hema and Patria will work in close cooperation,

exchanging engineering

personnel etc. The companies are

going to work together throughout the

project from the design up to the delivery.

Concerning the vehicle simulators

are open for discussions and further

willing to establish co-operation with

Turkish simulator provider.



Defence Turkey: On the other,4th generation Patria 6x6 and 8x8 vehicles have been in serial production since 2004. Patria AMV’s have already beenin Finland and other Army’sinventory and you have received high amount orders. BesidesPatria AMV is the test winner ofseveral vehicle procurement tests in Poland, Kuwait, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Slovenia. You had successful results from these tests regarding

mine protection, NBC etc. What is your assessment about the current position of Patria

AMV among the competitors on international platforms?



We at Patria feel confident regarding Patria AMV and its future possibilitie. Patria AMV givesYou the best value for your investment and fits in the right slot – heavy duty enough to support mission and to keep you protected but still giving you the highest mobility.



Defence Turkey: Patria Nemo marks another success in Patria’s innovativeness and specialized weapon systems know-how. Will you inform us about your own weapon systems Nemo and

Amos? Could you brief us aboutyour ongoing R&D projects?





The newest member of Patria Weapon Systems 120 mm mortar family is Patria Nemo, a single-barrelled turret that fills the gap between traditional towed mortars and the twin-barrelled

AMOS. Patria Nemo is an unmanned 120 mm mortar turret with excellent signature management and ballistic protection. As a modern and compact system, Patria Nemo can easily be mounted onto various tracked and wheeled chassis. Due to its low weight, Patria Nemo is also adaptable to lightweight high-speed vessels. In addition, Nemo

offers semi-automatic ammunition handling and fully automatic laying system. Featuring exceptional accuracy and agility in all types of manoeuvres, Nemo is ready to fire in less than 30

seconds and enables immediate exit from firing position – true performance for an array of shoot & scoot tactics. Patria Nemo operates autonomously with impressive firepower, including direct and indirect fire, together with Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI), up to a range of 10 km. This makes infantry battalion indirect fire support highly mobile with increased firepower, high crew protection and rapid response time on the battlefield. Patria Nemo is also excellent for harbour patrol and protection, coast guarding and infantry landing operations. The ability to fire a mortar from a moving boat to a moving target opens up new possibilities for the world’s naval forces,

amphibious forces and coast guards. Mortar systems are key products for Patria Weapon Systems. Nemo is the state-of-the-art in mortars – light, gives protection for your crew and versatile giving you freedom to choose platform, either a vehicle or a boat. AMOS has the emphasis on fire power, selected by Finland and Sweden. Both Nemo and AMOS use the same field

proven mortar technology from which Patria has experience for more than 70 years. It is probable that vehicles and mortars play the key roles also in our coming R&D programs. Patria invests heavily in R&D with regard to its size. In 2004 a survey made for the leading business magazine in Finland (Talouselämä) among the 500 biggest Finnish companies placed Patria on the 6th place what regards the ratio R&D/net sales, higher than Nokia that year. The percentage,

being 15% that year, has varied between 12-15% yearly.



Defence Turkey: Patria has received an order for Patria Nemo Concept study from the Finnish Navy recently. What are the ongoing programmes and current projects that you are carrying out?



Nemo is the first mortar system to be put on a oat, we are just in the beginning of marketing this concept, it is called Nemo Navy – looks promising indeed. Today we have 4 different customers with which we work with the Nemo navy concept.



Defence Turkey: In last years it is seen that Patria is focusing stronglyon ternationalization and growth. Within this scope you have received significant achievements in Poland, Slovenia, Turkey and recently in South Africa. Could you lease inform us about your nternationalmarketing strategy, international activities and how you could reach your goals in these markets? Could it be considered that Patria has become an expert by transferring its expertise, knowledge and technology to the other local markets?





Patria’s success depends on effective and long term co-operation between the Finnish Defence Forces and domestic defence industry. In addition, we are seeking such partners for our international projects that provide most added value solutions for the customer. Our profound expertise and excellent products are reinforced by our success in international technology transfer projects. As a defence technology supplier, we have demonstrated hat we can provide flexible solutions tailored to individual customer needs. We will continue to invest actively in the European markets, especially in the modernisation of defence equipment in new EU member states and NATO countries. The Arabian Peninsula is also one of our focus areas in the near future. In the international context we are not one of the largest defense contractors, but in vehicles

and mortars we are the premium supplier.

One of the key elements of Patria’s business operations is international partnerships. In the longer term cooperation with Patria will offer new working opportunities for the local partners and industry, as can be seen in Poland and Slovenia for example. Patria has developed partnerships across Europe and beyond. Today, we

are an acknowledged and attractive partner in the international arena. We have gained good experience in the technology transfers to local companies and that is something we plan to use in the future also. Make local products with our support and based on our experience as well as offer the total Life Cycle Support package and develop together the Patria AMV Users’ Club. This is the channel through which the users of our vehicle can exchange information and experiences to further strengthen the positive features of the AMV. The principal task for Patria’s international marketing function is to achieve new RFQ’s and orders. Moreover, to increase and enhance Patria’s positive image internationally and in Finland. Patria uses the regional marketing concept where marketing is done using the Patria brand. PMSI serves all of Patria’s export businesses engaged in the defence material industry. Markets have been divided into geographical areas of responsibility with designated persons serving the customers in the target country on a one-stop basis. Patria works with selected partners to win target projects. The importance to establish right strategic partnership relations derives the winning concept that includes among others.



Defence Turkey: Although South African Denel Company has already its own armoured vehicles in their product line, they have signed a contract with Patria for the delivery of 264 Patria AMV vehicles for the South African infantry fighting

vehicle programme. What is your assessment about this point? In your briefing prior to the demonstration held in Kokkola on June 11 th 2007, you have summarized your marketing strategy with 3 words; “listen, listen and listen” Could it be the secret behind your

achievements?



Listening means above all that Patria wants to be near the customer, sitting on his knee. Our approach is not to “sell and run”, we believe in long term relations. The fact that Denel chose our Vehicle and Patria shows that we are considered as a reliable partner with which you can both build and supply your major procurement programs without loosing your sleep.



Defence Turkey: Hema Industry and Patria have signed a technical cooperation contract regarding manufacturing Patria AMV in Turkey. It is obvious that Patria has elected technical cooperation over direct sales to Turkey. In this regard, why has Patria chosen Hema as her partner

for her activities in Turkey? Could you please inform us about the production scheme between

Hema and Patria and current stage reached since signing of the contract?



When investigating the possible partners in Turkey we found out that Hema Endustri was the prime candidate with its infrastructure, capital strength, quality systems that are in place and

trained human resources. Our previous experience has proven that these are very important assets when you are partnering for such an important and

long lasting project. If we look at it from other perspective Hema Endustri AS is also seen as strongest candidate because it has already been producing systems and components for automotive , agricultural and construction equipment industries. Hema supplies to the same

companies from which some subsystems of Patria AMV also originate as commercial-off-the-self products. Therefore, considering the importance

of local production in this project we have seen Hema Endustri AS as the prime company, which can act as the main contractor as well as subsystem

producer without compromising quality and ntegrity of Patria AMV. Together with Hema we have identified main subsystems of Patria AMV, which are to be supplied by Turkish contractors to Hema. The complete manufacturing set-up is to be arranged in order to maximize the share of

Turkish suppliers by utilising Hema’s stablished supplier base and Hema’s own capabilities. Hema has invested a lot lately in the production facilities at Cerkezköy and also elsewhere, there are modern facilities available for the manufacturing of Turkish armoured vehicles. Assembly and manufacturing of vehicles already takes place at Hema in Turkey. Even though there are no armoured vehicles currently in serial production at Hema, there has been production of armoured vehicle previously. The components and subsystems, which Hema likes to

have supplied by Patria have been identified and Patria has informed Hema about the ways Patria has done in other projects, such as in Poland, in

which Patria has supported the local vehicle manufacturing company. By far the major part of the vehicle value will be generated in Turkey.





Defence Turkey: Could you please elaborate on objectives regarding Turkey? Is manufacturing

a customized AMV to meet the requirements of Turkey within Patria’s agenda?





Hema’s and Patria’s objective is to generate a Turkish armoured vehicle based on Patria’s 4th generation armoured vehicle design. AMV is capable of satisfying all the needs and technical

requirements, which are so far issued. Patria AMV is a tested and field proven vehicle. Also customer needs to be confident that required design modifications and changes will be done

without jeopardising the reliability of the vehicles. Patria has already proved that it has this ability and is willing to share the gained experience and information with its partner, Hema

Endustri, in order to satisfy customers needs.

It is not a minor issue to develop a field proven armoured vehicle from a prototype. Hema as the prime contractor and Patria supporting Hema we are able to build a modern Turkish

armoured vehicle on the basis of a solid and tested Patria AMV. Turkey is strong and large military power with a lot of expertise, Hema and Patria want to serve the Turkish army in the decades to come - not only concerning the armoured vehicle project. For Hema and Patria the project is of utmost importance.



Defence Turkey: In line with this investment in Turkey, could Turkey due to her geopolitical

location be considered as a team player in Patria’s marketing activities regarding the Middle East and other regions around Turkey.



Yes, these marketing issues are something we consider together with Hema and there are areas, which could be effectively handled from Turkey.

However, no decisions have been made yet but we have them on our mutual agenda.



Defence Turkey: Do you think that in the near future your activities to meet the requirements of Turkey which is one of the key players in NATO and the UN will contribute to a new approach in your international marketing

strategy?



Turkey is a major military power with a lot of influence and heritage, without any doubt Turkey is important for us, Patria will for sure do its utmost in order to satisfy the Turkish customer’s

needs.



Defence Turkey: Turkish Defence Industry has become one of the major team players of reputable companies on international platform due to their advanced capabilities and technology. Within this respect do you have any thoughts and plans in doing cooperative work with

Turkish companies related with your other activities besides land solutions?



Patria is open for cooperation. Cooperation is our key principle, there are a lot of opportunities in front of us.





Defence Turkey: Do you want to add some words more?



We take pride in a strong past and a dedicated evolution towards joint success with our partners. In all we do, we deliver protection and performance. In all we deliver, we offer partnerships and potential. We believe that together with the right partners we create true

success .