Sweden orders 20 armored vehicles under joint European program

STUTTGART, Germany — Sweden has become the third nation to order new armored personnel carriers under a joint European research-and-development effort, following Finland and Latvia, and soon to be followed by Germany.

The nation’s Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered 20 6x6 vehicles on April 17, after joining the multinational Common Armored Vehicle Systems (CAVS) program last year, according to Finnish manufacturer Patria.

Deliveries of the “Pansarterrängbil 300″ – as the vehicles will be called in Sweden – will begin within 2023. Designed for troop transportation of up to 12 personnel, the vehicle will be modular and can also be configured for other purposes , such as command and control, or ambulance duties.

Stockholm plans to ultimately buy several hundred 6x6 vehicles under the CAVS program at a unit price of 11 million kronor (U.S. $1.06 million), according to reporting by Swedish publication SVT . The order was hailed by Patria and Swedish officials as a demonstration of Finnish-Swedish cooperation, as the engine and armor are developed by Swedish suppliers including Scania AB.

Meanwhile, Germany also took a new step into the effort by officially signing the technical arrangement for CAVS on April 17, making it a formal member of the project that currently includes Finland, Latvia, and Sweden, said Patria. The company is majority owned by the state of Finland, with Norwegian arms company Kongsberg also an owner.

Latvia and Finland first signed a mutual research-and-development agreement in 2020, then signed the CAVS framework agreement the following year. Since 2021, Riga has begun receiving what will eventually be a 200-strong fleet of 6x6 armored personnel carriers, with deliveries to continue through 2029. Meanwhile, Helsinki began receiving its pre-series testing vehicles last summer and is expecting to order 160 in total, per Patria.

Vivienne Machi is a reporter based in Stuttgart, Germany, contributing to Defense News' European coverage. She previously reported for National Defense Magazine, Defense Daily, Via Satellite, Foreign Policy and the Dayton Daily News. She was named the Defence Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2020.

德国斯图加特——继芬兰和拉脱维亚之后，瑞典成为第三个根据欧洲联合研发计划订购新型装甲运兵车的国家，德国也将很快跟进。

据芬兰制造商 Patria 称，该国国防物资管理局 (FMV) 在去年加入多国通用装甲车辆系统 (CAVS) 项目后，于 4 月 17 日订购了 20 辆 6x6 车辆。

这款名为“Pansarterrängbil 300”的车辆（在瑞典的名称）将于 2023 年开始交付。该车辆设计用于运送最多 12 名人员，采用模块化设计，还可以配置用于其他用途，例如指挥控制或救护任务。

据瑞典媒体SVT报道，斯德哥尔摩计划最终根据CAVS项目采购数百辆6x6车辆，单价为1100万瑞典克朗（约合106万美元）。芬兰国家装甲车辆制造商Patria和瑞典官员称赞此次订单体现了芬兰和瑞典的合作，因为车辆的发动机和装甲均由包括斯堪尼亚公司在内的瑞典供应商研发。

与此同时，德国也迈出了参与该项目的新一步，于4月17日正式签署了CAVS的技术协议，成为该项目的正式成员。该项目目前还包括芬兰、拉脱维亚和瑞典。帕特里亚表示，该公司由芬兰政府控股，挪威军火公司康斯伯格也是股东之一。

拉脱维亚和芬兰于2020年首次签署了相互研发协议，随后于次年签署了CAVS框架协议。自2021年起，里加开始接收最终将拥有200辆6x6装甲运兵车的车队，交付工作将持续到2029年。与此同时，据Patria公司称，赫尔辛基已于去年夏天开始接收其预生产测试车辆，预计总共订购160辆。

薇薇安·马奇是驻德国斯图加特的一名记者，主要负责《防务新闻》的欧洲报道。她此前曾为《国家防务杂志》、《防务日报》、《卫星通讯》、《外交政策》和《代顿每日新闻》撰稿。2020年，她荣获防务媒体奖最佳青年防务记者称号。