Finland’s Patria and Babcock have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly put forward Patria’s 6x6 vehicle for the British Army's Land Mobility Programme (LMP) in the Medium category.

The announcement came during Defence iQ's International Armoured Vehicles 2025 conference, held in Farnborough, UK, between 21 and 23 January. Babcock’s main role would be in supporting and enabling british industry participation and the transition of production directly into the UK.

Patria will lead the further development of its vehicle, providing bespoke enhancements to meet British Army requirements, including adding new variants where needed. Patria’s 6x6 is a modular, amphibious APC which can be configured in a number of roles. Most of the vehicles on order so far are Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), but in November 2024 Latvia ordered 56 additional vehicles to be configured as Command and Control (C2) posts, introducing this new variant. Work is ongoing at various levels to also produce an Ambulance variant and a mortar variant with Patria’s own turreted, remote-controlled NEMO 120 mm mortar.

Patria’s 6x6 is currently in production for the multinational Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme, launched by Finland and Latvia in 2020. Sweden joined in 2022 and Germany followed in May 2024 as a partner in development. Germany did not immediately select Patria’s 6x6 as FUCHS replacement, continuing to consider alternatives in the following months, but has recently officially asked a costed proposal for a first batch of 300 vehicles which are expected to be ordered soon.

Patria already has orders for more than 800 vehicles, with over 200 already delivered. A production line in Latvia, in the city of Valmiera, opened in May 2024 to localize production of the vehicles for the Baltic republic. Finland has 161 on order or delivered since 2023; Latvia has 256; Sweden has already received 20 APCs and ordered 321 other vehicles in March 2024 for delivery by 2030.

According to the Swedish ministry of defence, the order includes C2 and ambulance variants that will follow the initial deliveries in APC configuration. These new vehicles will be delivered with Kongsberg RS4 PROTECTOR remote weapon stations. The vehicle is remarkably cheap, with the Swedish order valued at 5,3 billion Kronor, little more than 460 million Euro.

In the UK, the Patria 6x6, if selected, would respond to the Land Mobility Programme – Medium replacement, a project that should deliver up to 1600 vehicles to replace a variety of existing fleets and types, including MASTIFF, RIDGBACK but also (part of) the tracked and increasingly ancient FV432 BULLDOG fleet.

In theory, the British Army aims to field the vehicles by 2030 although it’s inevitable to have doubts given the previous false starts. At the moment, the most credible rival for the Patria 6x6 is the Australian, Thales-built BUSHMASTER 5.5. Both vehicles are not only well suited to meet the requirement but also used by key UK allies. Both vehicles have thus a political “weight” in their favor; BUSHMASTER through AUKUS and Patria through European/NATO cooperation. In particular, Sweden, Latvia and Finland are members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force.

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