Slovenian Army’s New APCs: Patria’s AMVs

Slovenian Army’s New APCs: Patria’s AMVs

The Slovenian Ministry of Defence announced that Patria’s Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) had been selected as the preferred vehicle for the its armored vehicle program. Patria notes that the order will include 135 wheeled armored personnel carriers in 4 different versions, including one variant with Patria’s new unmanned NEMO 120mm mortar turret. The deal has now been negotiated at EUR 278 million (about $367 million), with deliveries to take place from 2007-2013.

The AMV’s most frequent competition comes from General Dynamics’ twin subsidiaries: Steyr with its Pandur II, and MOWAG with its LAV III Piranha. The December 2006 Patria release touts their AMV’s status as “…first of its kind in the world with the unique level of mine protection certified by South African authorities.” Even so, each competitor has seen its share of recent wins…
AMV w. RLS IFV turret(click to view full)Patria has won some of these competitions, including a large 690-vehicle contract in Poland, plus 84 AMV orders from Finland so far that include 24 breech-loading 120mm AMOS twin-mortar variants. It has also lost competitions in Belgium (242 LAV III Piranhas for $850 million) The Czech Republic (199 Pandur IIs for $1 billion), and Portugal (260 Pandur IIs for $482 million).
The Slovenian award is a significant win for Patria in this context, and it’s also significant as the first sale of their new single-barreled New Efficient MOrtar 120mm system, introduced in June 2006. Patria is better known for its twin-barreled and manned AMOS 120mm mortar turret, developed in partnership with BAE Hagglunds. Despite initial orders of 2 AMOS systems for the Finnish Army and 2 evaluation systems for Sweden, Defense Update describes AMOS as having an “inhibitive price tag.” This may create a market opportunity for the single-barreled, lower rate of fire NEMO.
On June 22, 2006, Patria announced the formation of a new joint venture company for the Slovenian AMV programme with Slovenian partners The Gorenje Group and Rotis. Rotis d.o.o. was established in 1990, and sells pipes, steel, and machines. The Gorenje Group is a household appliances maker under the Gorenje, Korting, Mora and Sidex brands; they are Slovenia’s largest net exporter, and recently supassed EUR 1 billion in annual sales.
The AMV vehicles will be manufactured in Finland and in Slovenia with local co-operation partners. Industrial offsets will include 30% direct offsets within the contract, and 70% other Slovenian items exported globally. Production will gradually be transferred to Slovenia in 2007 and 2008, with Rotis and Gorenje in prominent roles.
Patria Oyj is owned 25%/75% by the Finnish State and EADS, and its AMV has been in serial production since 2004.