The defense ministries of Slovakia and Finland have signed an official contract for Slovakia’s purchase of 76 Patria 8×8 AMV XP combat vehicles.
Slovakia’s defense minister Jaroslav Naď and his Finnish counterpart Antti Kaikkonen signed the government to government transfer of technology agreement in Bratislava on August 30.
The deal is part of Slovakia’s infantry fighting vehicle modernization program, which will also see the country buy the BAE Systems-built CV-90 to replace the ageing fleet of Soviet-era BVP-1, BVP-2 and BVP M tracked combat vehicles currently in service.
The current contract includes 76 wheeled IFVs, including logistics and spares, but some 500 units are expected to be purchased eventually.
Slovakian AMV XPs will feature the Slovak Turra-30 turret configuration with the 30mm GTS-30/A cannon and will come with a price tag of 4.67 million euros per vehicle.
Slovakia is slated to take delivery of the first vehicles as early as September 2023. The first eight Patria AMV XPs will be made in Finland, so that employees of the Slovakian companies involved can learn everything they need to know for the production of the vehicles.
The rest of the platforms will be manufactured completely by SVK companies, with the first Slovak-made AMV XP expected to roll out of the assembly line in 2024 and the last one in 2027.
Apart from the signing of the G2G Agreement, the signing of another two related contracts – a contract between the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic and Patria as well as a contract between KONŠTRUKTA-Defence (a 100% state-owned JSC under the remit of the SVK MOD) and Patria – took place as the culmination of a series of meetings between experts.
“We will not only meet the 40 percent level of Slovak defense industry content, but we will even exceed this limit – already today I can confirm a nearly 43 percent stake, yet this may not be the final figure,” defense minister Jaroslav Naď said.
“The Slovak side will have one prime contractor – KONŠTRUKTA-Defence and six main subcontractors. Altogether, over 40 Slovak defense companies will be involved in and benefit from the project.”
