Sweden and Finland will jointly evaluate the Patria TrackX through the purchase of pre-series vehicles. According to Jonas Lotsne of the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), the aim is to examine whether the tracked vehicle can cover a capability requirement in subarctic environments, while the two countries also want to build on the joint procurement model used within the multinational CAVS programme.
The trip to Eurosatory is sponsored by BAE Systems Bofors.
At the Eurosatory defence and security exhibition in Paris on 15 June, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the Finnish Defence Forces' Logistics Command signed a so-called Implementation Arrangement for Common Arctic Mobility (IA CAM). The agreement enables information exchange and cooperation on the pre-series procurement of the Patria TrackX, as well as any future acquisitions.
The Swedish part of the trial activity includes the purchase of five TrackX vehicles, which will be evaluated by the Swedish Armed Forces.
"We are now joining forces with Finland to share experiences and evaluate the TrackX from Patria. There is a lot to be gained from doing this work together with Finland," says Jonas Lotsne, Head of the Army Materiel business area at the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), in a press release.
In an interview with Nordic Defence Sector, Lotsne describes the gap that FMV believes the vehicle could potentially fill.
"If you consider Finland and Sweden, and we have roughly the same type of terrain, it fills a gap linked to transport in the kind of terrain we have, particularly in subarctic climates. Up in northern Sweden and Finland," he says.
According to a press release from Patria, the TrackX has been developed within the multinational FAMOUS programme, which is co-financed by the European Defence Fund (EDF). The vehicle has been designed to operate in demanding environments and soft terrain, from deep snow and marshland to sand dunes.
During the evaluation, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the Swedish Armed Forces will examine several different aspects of the system.
"When FMV procures materiel, we always test based on a number of different aspects. Of course the technology and the user perspective, but also other things we have to take into account, such as environmental requirements and more. So there are a number of different aspects," says Lotsne.
However, the cooperation with Finland is not solely about sharing experiences from trials and tests. Lotsne also describes an ambition to achieve the same type of standardisation that Sweden and several other European countries are pursuing within the Patria 6x6-based CAVS programme.
"That is the model we have put together with Finland: if the materiel is good enough for Finnish soldiers, it should also be good enough for Swedish soldiers. That gives us interoperability. We get synergies in spare parts, we can have joint training and education, and we can share experiences regarding the systems as well," he says.
"The ambition to have exactly the same configuration also reduces the requirements placed on industry, which allows us to standardise the products and create a simpler case for industry," Lotsne continues.
Both Sweden and Finland will now make their own national decisions on the further pre-series acquisitions, and subsequently assess whether the TrackX is suitable for operational use within their respective armed forces.
