Patria Opens a New Armored Vehicle Production Facility in Valmiera, Latvia
Patria has opened a new armored vehicle production facility in Valmiera, Latvia. This marks the start of full-cycle production of Patria 6x6 armored vehicles in Latvia, the first and so far, the only one in the Baltics.
“Patria has more than four decades of experience in developing and delivering state-of-the-art protected vehicles for troop transportation and system integration. Patria’s success in its market-leading armored vehicles and related programs, in which the unique, joint Common Armored Vehicle System (CAVS) program plays the key role, drives the opening of this new facility in Latvia,” says Esa RAUTALINKO, President and CEO of Patria. “We at Patria are proud about the close collaboration with Latvia and Latvian National Armed Forces. As in the case of Latvia, vast majority of supply of the vehicles is conducted by utilizing the CAVS member nations’ local industry capabilities. Every new nation is inherently reinforcing the security of supply for the whole collaboration system.”
Defense Partnership Latvia, a Patria majority-owned joint venture with a local Latvian partner Unitruck, manages Patria’s Latvian production operations and the facility. Latvian Ministry of Defense ordered in 2021 more than 200 Patria 6x6 armored vehicles for delivery by 2029. This cooperation agreement strengthens the combat capabilities of the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) as well as contributes to the development of Latvian defense technological and industrial base.
“The local Patria 6x6 project creates the conditions for a development breakthrough in the Latvian defense industry. Our new facility will focus on the delivery of armored personnel carriers ordered by the Latvian National Armed Forces, but we are actively working to ensure that our facility also implements other capability development projects of the NAF and produces military equipment for the defense forces of other countries,” says Uģis ROMANOVS, Chairman of the Board of Defense Partnership Latvia, and Patria Latvia.
Patria 6x6 vehicle was chosen as the platform for the CAVS program, participated already by Finland, Latvia, Sweden, and Germany. The CAVS-related Patria 6x6 deliveries are ongoing besides to Latvia, also to Finland and Sweden, and vehicles are in operational use. Patria has already received orders for nearly 700 Patria 6x6 vehicles. The program is open to European countries with similar equipment requirements, subject to participating nations approval.
