Finland’s Patria launches light tracked APC as successor to M113

LONDON — Finland’s Patria introduced a light tracked armored personnel carrier dubbed Trackx which it says could be a successor to the M113, one of the most successful armored vehicles in history, with the aim for the new APC to be ready for serial production in 2027.

The all-terrain troop carrier was unveiled at the DSEI UK defense show in London on Tuesday, and fills a hole in the market between lighter and heavier vehicles, according to Patria.

Trackx is designed to carry 12 soldiers with equipment, including a driver, commander and ten dismounts.

Patria is pitching Trackx as a modern alternative in the 13-18 metric-ton class of tracked armor, a segment still dominated by the M113, a 65-year old design that has recently seen extensive use in Ukraine. With most recent armor designs trending heavier, the new APC could provide European forces with a lighter, more affordable option for all-terrain troop transport.

“There is nothing similar on the market, there is currently no comparable product segment from any other manufacturer,” Jussi Järvinen, Patria’s executive vice president for protected mobility, told Defense News in a written reply to questions. “Competitors mostly manufacture lighter or significantly heavier and more expensive vehicles.”

Trackx is the first production-ready vehicle to come out of the European Union-funded FAMOUS program to develop future high-mobility armor, for which Finland is the lead nation and Patria the coordinating company. Patria presented a FAMOUS concept vehicle at the Eurosatory defense show in Paris last year.

The new APC could be “a very suitable solution” for countries that operate the M113 or MT-LB type light tracked armor and are looking for a replacement, according to Patria. The M113, with more than 40 variants, is one of the most widely used combat vehicles in the world, with more than 80,000 vehicles produced.

The maximum combat weight of Patria’s new APC is 15.5 tons, with ballistic protection against small-arms fire that can be upgraded to protect against armor-piercing rifle rounds.

Patria says it has extensively tested Trackx on roads, in forests, bogs and snow. The vehicle is equipped with rubber tracks, and designed to have low ground pressure, a low center of gravity and adjustable hydro-pneumatic suspension for each track wheel.

Trackx has drawn “considerable attention” from potential customers, as the APC addresses gaps in land mobility, according to Järvinen. He said most of the interest is from countries in the EU, but there are also inquiries from outside Europe.

With regards to potential markets, the executive said “it’s important to note” that the FAMOUS program member countries contributed to development efforts and helped set the requirements. In addition to Finland, eight EU countries participate in the program, including France, Germany and Spain.

The total budget of the FAMOUS program is around €132 million ($155 million), including around €9 million in funding from the European Commission and €95 million from the European Defence Fund, with the remainder funded by the member countries and the participating companies.

For Finland, the program is part of a project to replace its existing fleet of all-terrain vehicles, with a requirement to operate in harsh northern weather and terrain conditions.

Patria’s partners in the FAMOUS consortium include France’s Arquus, French-German KNDS and Spain’s Indra. The Finnish company said the manufacturing role of its partners will depend on potential customer nations.

Patria said its operating model is based on the strong role of local production, and it has experience in setting up wheeled-armor programs in other countries. The company is the lead designer of the Common Armoured Vehicle System based on the Patria 6x6 wheeled platform, which is manufactured in Finland but also in Latvia, with plans for local production in Germany.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

伦敦——芬兰帕特里亚公司推出了一款名为 Trackx 的轻型履带式装甲运兵车，该公司称其可能是历史上最成功的装甲车之一 M113 的继任者，目标是使这款新型装甲运兵车在 2027 年投入批量生产。

据 Patria 公司称，这款全地形运兵车于周二在伦敦举行的 DSEI 英国防务展上亮相，填补了轻型车辆和重型车辆之间的市场空白。

Trackx 的设计载客量为 12 名士兵及装备，包括一名驾驶员、一名指挥官和十名步兵。

Patria公司将Trackx定位为13-18吨级履带式装甲车的现代化替代方案。该细分市场目前仍由M113主导，这款已有65年历史的设计近期在乌克兰得到了广泛应用。鉴于目前大多数装甲车辆的设计趋势是重量增加，这款新型装甲运兵车有望为欧洲部队提供一种更轻便、更经济的全地形部队运输选择。

“市场上没有类似的产品，目前其他任何制造商都没有同类产品，”帕特里亚公司负责防护机动性的执行副总裁尤西·亚尔维宁在回复《防务新闻》的书面提问时表示。“竞争对手生产的车辆大多更轻，或者更重、更贵。”

Trackx是欧盟资助的FAMOUS项目研发未来高机动装甲车辆的首款量产车型，芬兰是该项目的牵头国，Patria公司是协调单位。Patria公司去年在巴黎举行的欧洲防务展上展示了一款FAMOUS概念车。

帕特里亚表示，对于正在使用M113或MT-LB型轻型履带装甲车并寻求替代车型的国家而言，新型装甲运兵车可能是一个“非常合适的解决方案”。M113拥有超过40种衍生型号，是世界上使用最广泛的作战车辆之一，产量超过8万辆。

Patria 的新型装甲运兵车的最大战斗重量为 15.5 吨，具有可抵御小型武器射击的弹道防护能力，并且可以升级以抵御穿甲步枪弹。

Patria公司表示，他们已在公路、森林、沼泽和雪地等多种路面上对Trackx进行了广泛的测试。该车辆配备橡胶履带，设计旨在实现低接地压力、低重心以及每个履带轮均配备可调节的液气悬挂系统。

据Järvinen称，Trackx的全地形车（APC）弥补了陆地交通出行方面的不足，因此吸引了潜在客户的“极大关注”。他表示，大部分关注来自欧盟国家，但也收到了来自欧洲以外地区的咨询。

关于潜在市场，这位高管表示“值得注意的是”，FAMOUS计划的成员国为发展工作做出了贡献，并帮助制定了相关要求。除芬兰外，还有八个欧盟国家参与该计划，包括法国、德国和西班牙。

FAMOUS 计划的总预算约为 1.32 亿欧元（1.55 亿美元），其中包括欧盟委员会提供的约 900 万欧元资金和欧洲防务基金提供的 9500 万欧元资金，其余部分由成员国和参与公司提供资金。

对于芬兰来说，该计划是其替换现有全地形车车队项目的一部分，要求这些车辆能够在恶劣的北方天气和地形条件下运行。

Patria在FAMOUS财团的合作伙伴包括法国的Arquus、法德合资的KNDS以及西班牙的Indra。这家芬兰公司表示，合作伙伴的生产角色将取决于潜在客户所在国家。

Patria公司表示，其运营模式以本地化生产为核心，并在其他国家拥有丰富的轮式装甲车辆项目经验。该公司是基于Patria 6x6轮式平台的通用装甲车辆系统的主要设计方，该平台目前在芬兰和拉脱维亚生产，并计划在德国进行本地化生产。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。