Finland explores option of joint manufacturing of armored vehicles with Ukraine

Finland is beginning to explore the possibility of producing Finnish armored vehicles in Ukraine, Yle reports.

Consideration of the possibility of producing armored vehicles was initiated at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The publication notes that consideration of such a proposal could lead to the production of Patria APCs in Ukraine.

“If we take a long-term view, we in Europe have a vested interest in boosting the defense industry, and we in Finland of course have a huge amount of expertise in this area,” said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.

Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen noted that Ukraine had shown interest in Finnish defense companies.

“I believe that there are certainly opportunities for cooperation if there is a clear will to do so. But we must remember that when we talk about changes in production systems, there are quite a few challenges in the conflict zone. This is something we are going through thoroughly, it is nothing new,” Häkkänen said.

Ukraine already operates Polish Rosomak armored personnel carriers, which are a licensed version of the Finnish Patria.

As Militarnyi previously reported, soldiers of the 44th Mechanized Brigade use KTO Rosomak armored personnel carriers.

Ukraine and Sweden have declared their intention to jointly produce CV90 infantry fighting vehicles in Ukraine.

READ MORE IN THE ARTICLE:  “CV90: History, modifications, operators. Ukrainian prospective”

Finland is actively developing the joint production of Patria 6×6 armored personnel carriers with Latvia. The platform was reportedly chosen for a joint armored vehicle program in 2020.

It is planned that not only the assembly but also the production of armored personnel carrier components will take place in Latvia.