Japan selects winner of wheeled armored personnel carrier competition

Update: This story now has comment from the Japanese government about the quantity of vehicles it plans to purchase, included on Dec. 22, 2022, at 9:55 a.m. ET.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan has selected Finland’s Patria AMV as its next wheeled armored personnel carrier following a two-stage evaluation process to replace its fleet of Type 96 eight-wheel drive armored vehicles.

Japan’s Acquisitions, Technology and Logistics Agency announced Friday that the AMV was selected over the Mitsubishi Armored Vehicle. The country’s evaluation process considered cost, performance, logistics and the production base for each vehicle.

The agency also said that while both vehicles scored similarly in logistics support and in-country production capabilities, the AMV scored better against its opponent in terms of cost and overall performance.

Japan had shortlisted Patria, local company Mitsubishi and American contractor General Dynamics Land Systems in 2019 as contenders for its Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier competition. GDLS offered the LAV 6.0 platform.

All three contenders were to have delivered prototype vehicles to Japan for evaluation by March 30, 2022, although the agency’s announcement stated that GDLS did not do so.

Patria said in a news release announcing its selection that it will manufacture the AMVs for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in the country under license. Janne Räkköläinen, a senior vice president at Patria, noted in the release that Japan will be the ninth user of the AMV family and that the company has “experience of licensing and cooperation with local industries in many countries.”

Japan’s Defense Ministry had sought to acquire 29 vehicles through this program in its fiscal 2023 budget request, released in late August, with the expectation all vehicles would be delivered in three years.

Japan currently has more than 360 Types 96 platforms in its inventory. The government told Defense News it plans to acquire 140 armored wheeled armored vehicles as personnel carriers over the next five years, “but the total number of vehicles to be procured is still under consideration and we cannot provide an answer at this point.”

The government has also contacted Mitsubishi to develop a wheeled infantry fighting vehicle, mortar carrier and reconnaissance vehicle based on the Type 16 maneuver combat vehicle, with prototypes of the two former vehicle types seen in Japan undergoing tests in October.

Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Defense News.

更新：本文现已包含日本政府关于其计划购买车辆数量的评论，该评论于美国东部时间 2022 年 12 月 22 日上午 9:55 发布。

澳大利亚墨尔本——经过两阶段的评估过程，日本已选择芬兰的 Patria AMV 作为其下一代轮式装甲运兵车，以取代其现有的 96 式八轮驱动装甲车。

日本装备技术后勤局周五宣布，AMV装甲车击败三菱装甲车，最终被选中。日本的评估过程综合考虑了每款装甲车的成本、性能、后勤保障和生产基地等因素。

该机构还表示，虽然两款车型在后勤支持和国内生产能力方面得分相近，但AMV在成本和整体性能方面比其对手表现更好。

2019年，日本将Patria、日本本土公司三菱以及美国承包商通用动力陆地系统公司（General Dynamics Land Systems）列入其轮式装甲运兵车竞标的候选名单。通用动力陆地系统公司最终提交了LAV 6.0平台方案。

所有三家竞争者都应在 2022 年 3 月 30 日之前向日本交付原型车进行评估，但该机构的公告称，GDLS 没有这样做。

Patria公司在宣布中标的新闻稿中表示，将获得授权在日本为日本陆上自卫队生产AMV装甲车。Patria公司高级副总裁Janne Räkköläinen在新闻稿中指出，日本将成为AMV系列装甲车的第九个用户，该公司“在许多国家拥有与当地企业进行授权和合作的经验”。

日本防卫省在 8 月下旬发布的 2023 财年预算申请中，寻求通过该计划采购 29 辆车辆，并预计所有车辆将在三年内交付。

日本目前拥有超过360辆96式装甲车。日本政府告诉《防务新闻》，计划在未来五年内采购140辆轮式装甲车作为人员运输车，“但采购车辆的总数仍在考虑之中，目前我们无法给出确切答案。”

日本政府还与三菱公司联系，希望其以 16 式机动战车为基础开发轮式步兵战车、迫击炮运载车和侦察车。10 月份，日本已看到前两种车辆的原型车进行测试。

Mike Yeo 是《防务新闻》的亚洲通讯员。