Defense News
April 17, 2023

Sweden orders 20 armored vehicles under joint European program

Sweden has become the third nation to order new armored personnel carriers under a joint European research-and-development effort, following Finland and Latvia, and soon to be followed by Germany.

The nation’s Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered 20 6×6 vehicles on April 17, after joining the multinational Common Armored Vehicle Systems (CAVS) program last year, according to Finnish manufacturer Patria.

***

Stockholm plans to ultimately buy several hundred 6×6 vehicles under the CAVS program at a unit price of 11 million kronor (U.S. $1.06 million), according to reporting by Swedish publication SVT. The order was hailed by Patria and Swedish officials as a demonstration of Finnish-Swedish cooperation….

Meanwhile, Germany also took a new step into the effort by officially signing the technical arrangement for CAVS on April 17, making it a formal member of the project that currently includes Finland, Latvia, and Sweden…The company is majority owned by the state of Finland, with Norwegian arms company Kongsberg also an owner.

…Meanwhile, Helsinki began receiving its pre-series testing vehicles last summer and is expecting to order 160 in total….

Photo: Gallup/Getty