According to a press release from the Swedish Defense Material Administration (FMV) the Swedish government has signed a military arms agreement valued at 5.3B SEK (505M USD) for 321 armored vehicles under the Common Armored Vehicle System (CAVS) Agreement between Finland, Germany, Latvia, Sweden, and the manufacturing company, Patria.
The post indicated that these 321 systems will be the Pansarterrängbil 300, (Finnish produced Patria XA-300 6×6), with an emphasis on Command-and-Control vehicles in the batch. The Swedish Army currently employs an all-Finnish Armored Combat vehicle fleet, with the last batch of Patria 6x6s being delivered last year. This new batch is a continuation of the initial batch of 20 vehicles. It also employes the:
- Pansarterrängbil 360, Finnish produced Patria XA-360 AMV. (113)
- Pansarterrängbil 203, Finnish-produced Patria XA-203S (148)
- Pansarterrängbil 180, Finnish-produced Sisu XA-180S (35)
This new batch will significantly increase Sweden’s ability to employ and grow its mechanized infantry forces and demonstrates the country’s commitment to increasing its military spending after joining the NATO alliance.
Jonas Lotsne, head of FMV’s Army Materiel Operations Area said in the announcement:
“This will be a significant addition to the Army, which will have a very potent armoured personnel carrier. Thanks to good cooperation with the supplier and the Finnish Armed Forces, we can place this order and get fast deliveries.”
Johan Lampinen, Section Manager Armored Terrain Vehicle, FMV also commented on the CAVS program:
“It’s record time to produce a mass-produced vehicle in such a short time. The fact that we have succeeded in this is a combination of the fact that we have joined the CAVS cooperation and that we have minimized the adaptations for the Swedish Armed Forces. We have adopted a model that already exists and only made less adapted unique Swedish special requirements. Now the Swedish Armed Forces will have a vehicle that meets the requirements well and that is delivered quickly and on time.”
