Patria 6×6 Armoured Wheeled Vehicle

The Patria 6×6 Armoured Wheeled Vehicle is the latest evolution of the well-proven Finnish SISU Pasi XA-Series wheeled armoured personnel carrier, writes Bob Morrison.

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We first encountered the new Patria 6×6 AWV at the 2018 Eurosatory defence expo in Paris and caught up with it again at DSEI 2018 in London, where it was displayed with a Patria Nemo 120mm mortar housed in a remote controlled turret.

Yesterday, 29th January, Patria announced “Finland and Latvia have agreed on a joint development programme for sustained army mobility enhancement to which Patria is to deliver a 6×6 vehicle chassis platform.” The basis for this platform is, of course, the Patria 6×6 Armoured Wheeled Vehicle or AWV, which some Baltic Region troops already refer to as the New Pasi. See Patria 6×6 Chosen For Finnish-Latvian Programme.

At one of the morning sessions at the recent International Armoured Vehicles conference (IAV 2020) in London, Patria’s Senior Vice President Vehicle Systems gave a very interesting 30-minute presentation on ‘Meeting Requirements In The New Security Context‘ to a packed auditorium of military and industry delegates; afterwards he gave JOINT-FORCES.com a memory stick containing several interesting videos of the Patria 6×6 on the move, as well as other products of interest. On this page we are focussing on the new Patria 6×6 AWV and in a follow-up feature we will look at the in-service Patria AMV, or Armoured Modular Vehicle, both with and without the Nemo 120mm RCT mortar.

In a press release distributed at DSEI 19 in London last September the company stated: “Patria 6×6 is a successor to the Pasi Armoured Personnel Carrier and to complement the vehicle fleets of customers of the legendary Patria AMV 8X8. Patria 6×6 is a multipurpose transport vehicle. The chassis structure is based on the same components as the AMV, but with one less axle. The vehicle is driven by all three axles and steered from the front two, or all three, depending on its equipage. Optional equipage can be added to bring the 6×6 closer to the AMV. For example, various ballistic and mine protection levels, weapon systems, self-protection systems and other interior equipment are available.”

Above: Patria 6×6 AWV at Eurosatory 2018 [© BM]

The vehicle is being marketed on its strengths in three areas:-

• Mobility: Robust and fully independent suspension, similar to Patria AMV, together with a high performance engine ensures unforeseen mobility and crew comfort in the 6×6 category; amphibious capability is also available as an option.
• Survivability: A high payload capability ensures that with the optional STANAG Level 4 protection level there is enough payload for various vehicle variants and equipment packages, allowing versatility through the various weapon system integrations available to the vehicle.
• Affordability: All solutions are cost effective with low through-life costs, which together with truck-like user interface makes the vehicle simple to operate, maintain and repair; logistical commonality between the Patria 6×6 AWV and Patria 8×8 AMV provides additional benefits.

For those interested in technical specifications, the basic Patria 6×6 has a maximum combat weight of 24 tonnes, including up to 8,500kg payload, and measures 7,500mm high by 2,900mm wide by 2,500mm high (to top of hull). Powered by a 294 kW (395hp) in-line five-cylinder engine through a 7F2R automatic gearbox, the all wheel drive Patria 6×6 has a top road speed in excess of 100km/hr an a range of at least 700km. The vehicle, which has STANAG Level 2 basic protection upgradable to Level 4, can ford 1,500mm unprepared, can cross a 1,000mm wide trench and climb a 600mm obstacle. CTIS (Central Tyre Inflation System) and amphibious drive propellers are an optional. Front and middle wheels are steerable as standard and rear axle steering is optional if additional manoeuvrability is required.

The following three videos, as supplied to us by the Patria Vehicle Systems team, show the 6×6 AWV being driven off-road and in Arctic snow as well as crossing water.

[images copyright Patria or Bob Morrison]