Patria has had high hopes for some time for the successor to the Fuchs armored transport vehicle of the German Bundeswehr with its 6×6 tank. The Finnish manufacturer is now also working together with DSL (part of the KNDS Group) and FFG; together, the three companies want to offer Germany the development, production and maintenance of the armored personnel carrier.
If Germany decides to procure the system, Patria will be the main contractor within the international Common Armored Vehicles System (CAVS) program and will lead the design and development of the system, according to a recent press release. DSL in Freisen and FFG with its branches in Flensburg (FFG) and Kirchen (JWT) are to ensure local engineering, production and life cycle support in Germany. Other German companies will also be involved in the program. https://militaeraktuell.at/es-wird-kein-stein-auf-dem-anderen-bleiben/ “We are delighted about the start of a unique partnership that will bring enormous added value to Germany. With the Patria 6×6, we offer a cost-efficient, mature standard platform that is already being used by NATO partner nations and which we want to adapt to German needs in order to meet the high requirements and technical standards of the Bundeswehr,” comments Hugo Vanbockryck, Senior Vice President, Market Area Europe at Patria. The CAVS program, which was originally launched by Finland and Latvia and later joined by Sweden and Germany, is a joint program of several European governments to develop a modern and armored 6×6 vehicle system. The Patria 6×6 was selected as the vehicle platform in 2019, and Germany officially joined the CAVS program in April 2023. Christoph Cords, Managing Director of DSL Defence Service Logistics GmbH, which is part of the KNDS Group, underlines the advantages of industrial teaming: “The partnership between Patria, DSL and FFG combines the best of German and Finnish engineering and manufacturing expertise and has the potential to take the already very successful European CAVS program to the next level. Multinational industrial partnerships like the one we have now announced are the future.”
Jörg Kamper, Managing Director of Jungenthal Wehrtechnik and member of the management board of FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau GmbH, is also confident: “This agreement will create a powerful team that will ensure reliable and sustainable CAVS production in Germany.” Kemper continues: “The main design of the vehicle system comes from Patria, the lion’s share of production is German. For FFG and JWT, this means that qualified jobs will be created in Germany and that the know-how, capacities and investments of the German industry can be used and further developed both in this program and for future in-service support. We are therefore very pleased to be part of this joint effort to equip Germany with the next generation of the 6×6 platform.” In addition to the 6×6 from Patria, the Bundeswehr also ordered the Fuchs 1A9 from Rheinmetall and the Pandur Evolution from General Dynamics subsidiary GDELS-Steyr (-> report on this) are on the shortlist.
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