It is estimated how many “Patria” armored vehicles could be produced in Latvia in a year

It is planned to produce approximately 30 “Patria” armored vehicles in Latvia every year, the LETA agency found out in the Ministry of Defense (MoD).

The full-cycle production of the new armored vehicles will be started in May of this year at the SIA “Defence Partnership Latvia” production facility, as a result of which the first vehicle will be ready for testing no earlier than July of this year. The MoD has identified several possible solutions so that the tests of the new armored vehicles can take place right here in Latvia.

The full-cycle production of armored vehicles is an important step in the development of the domestic military industry, the ministry says, because such a large-scale production of military vehicles has not been implemented in our country since the restoration of Latvia’s independence. In Latvia, it is planned to produce approximately 30 “Patria” armored personnel carriers every year, which are essential not only for the provision of the military industry, but also for the development and strengthening of the national industry.

The arrangement of regulatory acts has already started, so that in the future it would be possible to ensure the testing of military equipment on the territory of Latvia. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense and the National Armed Forces (NBS) will offer an operational solution that will affect the delivery schedule set by the NBS. Taking into account that until now, in accordance with the production schedule, tests of armored vehicles were carried out in Finland, so far deliveries to NBS have not been delayed either, according to the Ministry of Interior.

By resolving the uncertainties regarding the registration of vehicles not yet put into operation, the obstacles to other companies implementing the full or partial cycle production of special military equipment in Latvia will also be reduced.

The cooperation of the defense industry with the company “Defence Partnership Latvia” is successful, and the merchant has repeatedly confirmed the ability to achieve the set production and delivery goals.

It is also important that the production of armored vehicles is part of the international cooperation program to which Finland, Sweden and Germany have joined, and any other allied country can decide to participate in it. The purpose of the cooperation program is to implement the research and production of military equipment especially for the needs of the armed forces of the member states, the ministry emphasizes.

According to the information available on the “Firmas.lv” portal, “Defence Partnership Latvia” worked with a turnover of 519,370 euros and a loss of 129,392 euros in 2022. The company was registered in 2020, and its share capital is 203,777 euros.

The co-owners of “Defence Partnership Latvia” are SIA “Patria Latvia” (70.03%), the sole owner of which is “Patria ISP”, registered in Finland, and SIA “Unitruck” (29.97%), which belongs to Normund Driļevski.