Patria is now chasing a deal worth 3 billion

We meet in Prague, where the CEO Mr. Routilan led by Patria, the Czech Military Technical Institute (VTÙ) and Military Research Institute (VVÙ) and a state-owned company operating in the defense and security industry have concluded the memorandums of understanding (MoU) announced on Wednesday VOP CZ:with n.

The background to the cooperation is that Patria is trying to win the competition when the Czech Republic renews 100 old Pandur II armored vehicles and possibly acquires more NATO-compliant 8×8 vehicle stock.

Routila, who spent a couple of close days in Prague, says that Patria aims to get a deal worth three billion euros by offering its own AMV XP vehicles as well as extensive local production and maintenance cooperation.

“Of course, we hope that these (Memorandums of Understanding) will also help us move forward in our efforts in this offer of ours, what we have in this country,” says Routila.

Protocols signed with government agencies are important, and Patria’s CEO seems to be satisfied with the results of the visit to the Czech Republic.

The company’s tactic is to involve local partners in the project.

“We need partners who work locally. At the same time, we create a maintenance capability that can promote product development locally,” says Routila.

Patria’s competitors

The Czech project is considered one of the most significant land power acquisitions in Central Europe in the coming years. However, Patria faces two tough contenders in the competition: the German-Dutch Artecthe Boxer manufactured by the company and the Pandur 8×8 EVO vehicle developed by the Czech industry (under license from GDELS), which is manufactured by Tatra Defence Vehicle.

The competing fleet was described to Kauppalehti in Prague with colorful comparisons: Patria’s AMV XP has been compared to Škoda – a functional and cost-effective European choice. Boxer, on the other hand, has been labeled as an overpriced Mersun Maybach, and Pandur EVO has been compared to Trabant, i.e. a solution from the previous technology generation.

Routila is not excited by comparisons.

“I wouldn’t use metaphors like that at all. Our product has an awful lot of new innovations that mean a lot to usability compared to older technology,” he says.

“This is a next-generation device. It uses all the old lessons.”

Pthe extraction market is pulling

Patria is strongly developing its operations for the international defense market. NATO membership and the change in the security situation in Europe have accelerated the demand for the company’s products: last year already more than half of Patria’s turnover came from international business, and the share is expected to continue to grow.

“In Europe, we now have to rise and raise our own European defense capability. We hope that it will happen together,” says Routila.

Patria is involved in several defense projects funded by the EU, where Arctic mobility is developed, among other things.

“We have been able to participate in several big programs. One of them is the so-called Famous 3, which focuses on the next generation of Arctic mobility,” says Routila.

Several European countries are involved in Arctic cooperation.

“We have companies from 12–13 countries involved. They have significant capabilities that we have been able to bring into our own product,” says Routila.

International military-industrial cooperation inevitably also involves secret know-how. According to Routila, this can be managed with careful evaluation processes.

“They go through feasibility studies and evaluations. Each customer has their own needs, and countries are different in terms of soil, geography and structures,” he says.

Message to Europe

The CEO of Patria, which is growing in the international market, has three wishes for Europe. The first concerns the defense procurement bureaucracy.

“Procurement processes should be made easier across the board.”

Secondly, he calls for the strengthening of cooperation between states.

“The government-to-government model could be used more in Europe as well. It already works well in many countries.”

The third wish is related to financing.

“Paying advance payments is important. It doesn’t make sense for the industry to finance the development of states’ defense capabilities,” says Routila.

Abilities can be built

In Europe, many people fear whether their own defense capability is enough when the United States is transferring responsibility for traditional defense to the European NATO countries.

Routila does not want to take a position on Europe’s military defense capability, but he trusts Europe’s industrial capacity.

“As for the capability that the industry is building, I am confident. The industry can do it.”

For example, he raises Patria’s role in the F-35 fighter program.

“We make engine assembly and fuselages for hundreds of F-35s in Finland. It brings a significant amount of work and creates service and maintenance capability.”

Patria’s role as a component builder of US fighter jets may alleviate the concerns of some whether it was worth it for Finland to buy new fighter jets from the United States, which currently has an unpredictable attitude towards Europe.

“This guarantees that we have the ability to maintain, maintain, manage and further develop these,” says Routila.

Patria’s new CEO seems satisfied with the company’s growth prospects, even though there is work ahead.

“We grew by 32 percent last year. We have an order backlog of 3.5 billion euros and there is still a lot to do,” says Routila.