Slovenia stalls Patria vehicle purchase amid political wrangling

WARSAW, Poland — Slovenia’s government is delaying an envisioned purchase of roughly 100 AMV XP vehicles from Finnish manufacturer Patria during its current term, marking a new twist in the country’s long-running acquisition saga about armored vehicles.

This means that, despite signing a letter of intent with Finland last February, the Cabinet will not authorize the procurement of new eight-wheel-drive rides before the next parliamentary election, expected to be held in March 2026.

The Slovenian government selected the AMV XP last year after canceling the previous Cabinet’s 2022 contract to procure 45 Boxer vehicles from the Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), a multinational military-procurement agency.

The planned acquisition of Finnish vehicles was to boost the capabilities of a medium battalion battle group and a medium combat reconnaissance battalion within Slovenia’s military.

Slovenian media have reported on various potential reasons for delaying the AMV XP purchase that were proffered by unnamed government officials.

These include the Cabinet’s requirement for better force protection, including anti-drone measures, and the requirement to involve the domestic industry in the production of their turrets.

However, some local observers believe the actual reason is that the planned purchase could become the largest military procurement in the country’s history, at an estimated €695 million ($811 million), making it unpopular among a segment of Slovenian voters.

Matej Tonin, a member of the European Parliament for the opposition New Slovenia party and the nation’s former defense minister who signed the Boxer deal, criticized the government for the delay. He cited planning projections from the defunct Boxer purchase that would have the army equipped with 35 out of 45 those vehicle by now.

“Instead, we have lost three to four years, and every year acquisitions of military equipment become more and more expensive,” Tonin said.

“The demand has grown dramatically over the past three years, and this has been combined with a high level of inflation,” he added. “My advice to the government would be: don’t start everything from scratch, continue what was already initiated, and check what is needed by the Slovenian military.”

A spokesperson for the Slovenian Ministry of Defense told Defense News the project to purchase Patria vehicles “is ongoing and has not been halted in any way,” but technical add-ons would take more time.

“Due to changes in military conflicts and combat doctrine on modern battlefields, which also require the use of drones and anti-drone protection for effective operation, the Ministry of Defence has decided to upgrade the 8x8 vehicles with modern modular capabilities,” the spokesperson said. “This will take some time, but it is well worth it due to the increased usability of the vehicles.”

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——斯洛文尼亚政府推迟了原计划在本届任期内从芬兰制造商 Patria 购买约 100 辆 AMV XP 装甲车的计划，这标志着该国长期装甲车采购史出现了新的转折。

这意味着，尽管去年二月与芬兰签署了意向书，但内阁在预计于 2026 年 3 月举行的下届议会选举之前，不会批准采购新的八轮驱动车辆。

斯洛文尼亚政府去年取消了上届内阁于 2022 年与多国军事采购机构——联合军备合作组织 (OCCAR) 签订的采购 45 辆 Boxer 装甲车的合同，转而选择了 AMV XP。

斯洛文尼亚计划采购芬兰车辆，以增强其军队中一个中型营级战斗群和一个中型战斗侦察营的能力。

斯洛文尼亚媒体报道了未具名的政府官员提出的推迟购买AMV XP的各种潜在原因。

其中包括内阁要求加强部队保护（包括反无人机措施），以及要求让国内工业参与炮塔的生产。

然而，一些当地观察人士认为，真正的原因是，这项计划中的采购可能会成为该国历史上规模最大的军事采购，预计耗资 6.95 亿欧元（8.11 亿美元），这在部分斯洛文尼亚选民中不受欢迎。

代表反对党新斯洛文尼亚党的欧洲议会议员、曾签署“拳击手”装甲车采购协议的斯洛文尼亚前国防部长马泰·托宁批评政府拖延交付。他援引已终止的“拳击手”装甲车采购计划的预测指出，该计划原本应使军队目前装备45辆中的35辆。

“结果，我们浪费了三到四年时间，而且每年采购军事装备的成本也越来越高，”托宁说。

他补充说：“过去三年，需求急剧增长，同时通货膨胀水平也居高不下。我对政府的建议是：不要一切从零开始，继续推进已经启动的项目，并了解斯洛文尼亚军方的需求。”

斯洛文尼亚国防部发言人告诉《防务新闻》，购买 Patria 车辆的项目“正在进行中，并未以任何方式停止”，但技术附加装置需要更多时间。

发言人表示：“鉴于现代战场上军事冲突和作战理论的变化，以及有效作战需要使用无人机和反无人机防护，国防部决定对8x8车辆进行现代化模块化升级。这需要一些时间，但考虑到车辆可用性的提高，这是非常值得的。”

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。