Patria AMV
The Patria AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle) is an 8×8 multi-role military vehicle produced by the Finnish defence industry company Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its modular design, which allows the incorporation of different turrets, weapons, sensors, or communications systems on the same carriage. Designs exist for different APC vehicles (armoured personnel carrier) and IFV versions (infantry fighting vehicle), communications versions, ambulances and different fire support versions, armed with large caliber mortar and gun systems. The vehicle has a very good level of mine protection and can withstand explosions of up to TNT. The AMV  has protection levels up to 30 mm APFSDS frontal arc. Another important feature is the very good mobility (combining speed, agility, and crew comfort) in rough terrain, enabled by the sophisticated but rugged hydropneumatic suspension adjusting each wheel individually. History. The AMV stems from an investigation, made by the Finnish Army HQ in 1995, on different armored vehicle concepts. In 1996, Patria Vehicles began to develop different concept vehicles, and found the 8×8 one to be most suitable as a replacement for the 6×6 Sisu Pasi. The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) ordered an official concept study in 1999, which was  ready by 2000. Patria continued to develop the vehicle and the first AMV prototype was ready for testing in November 2001. Two evaluation samples were ordered by the FDF in December 2001, and were delivered in 2003. Later the same year, the FDF ordered 24 AMOS-equipped Patria AMVs for delivery 2006–09. The FDF also said that they were looking to order some 100 units, equipped with remote-controlled weapon stations, later placing an order for 62. In December 2002, the Polish Defence Ministry placed an order for 690 vehicles, making Patria the leading manufacturer of IFV in the 15–27  tonne range in Europe. Subsequent deals were made all over Europe, as well as in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates—in many places being locally produced. In 2004, the AMV became the first 4th generation combat vehicle of its kind to enter serial production. The design was based on experience gained from building the Pasi and on customer feedback on that vehicle. It was entirely designed in 3D virtual environments before construction, and subsequent successful testing of the prototype showed that it fulfilled all expectations. The vehicle was initially designed in 6×6, 8×8 and 10×10 variants, but the  10×10 variant was later dropped. Versions. Patria AMV (first version). The AMV is offered in three main variants: a basic platform, a high roof platform and a heavy weapon platform. Patria AMV. In 2013 Patria launched a new upgraded version of AMV. In June 2014 Patria announced the name of its next generation 8×8 armoured vehicles, Patria AMV, which stands for Extra Payload, Extra Performance and Extra Protection. National variants. Havoc (United States). Patria and Lockheed Martin agreed to cooperate in the competition for the US Marines MPC (Marine Personnel Carrier) program that was set to replace the LAV-25. The  USMC planned to obtain 600 MPC vehicles. Patria was to deliver the AMV 8×8 vehicle. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration was responsible for the MPC offer, as well as system integration, survivability systems, the US production line, and networking and logistics. In August 2012, the Marines gave Lockheed a developmental contract for their vehicle, called the Havoc. For protection against mine attacks, the Havoc would have used a 'subframe' rather than a V-hull. On 3 April 2013, the Havoc successfully completed amphibious testing as part of its evaluation for the MPC program. The Marine Personnel Carrier was put on hold  in June 2013, restarted in February 2014, and then restructured as Phase 1 of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) program, which included the previous MPC competitor entries. During the summer of 2013, the Havoc successfully completed protection systems testing during a series of blast tests. The vehicle completed all threshold and objective protection system testing, with instrumentation indicating that no disabling injuries would have resulted to any of the three crew members and nine dismounted Marines. Lockheed also delivered a report demonstrating the high degree of commonality between the Havoc and other Marine Corps vehicles, aimed at reducing cost, training  requirements, and logistics needs. The Lockheed Havoc AMV completed the Nevada Automotive Test Center's Butte Mountain Trail course in September 2014. Lockheed planned to offer the Havoc in the Marine Corps' ACV Phase 1 program, and give them 16 vehicles to test once a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released in early 2015. However, in July 2015 partnership between Patria and Lockheed Martin came to an end, and Havoc was not offered to the Amphibious Combat Vehicle program. Service. The Polish Army has ordered 690 vehicles in 2003, including 313 AMVs with the Italian Oto Melara 30 mm Hitfist-30P  turret and 377 AMVs in various other configurations to be delivered between 2004 and 2013. Some of the Polish vehicles were deployed in Afghanistan. The Polish vehicles are known as KTO Rosomak ("wolverine") in Polish Army service. In 2013 the Polish army ordered 307 more vehicles, including 122 AMVs and 80 mortars, totaling 997 units making Poland the largest operator by a fair margin. The Vehicles are built in Poland under the licence. In 2017 Polish Ministry of Defence said that production of KTO Rosomak is now 100% based in Poland. The Finnish Army has ordered 24 AMVs fitted with  the AMOS mortar system and 62 AMVs fitted with Protector (RWS) remote weapon system for the .50 M2HB QCB heavy machine gun or the GMG grenade machine gun. The standard version is known as "XA-360" in Finnish Army service, while the AMOS version is known as "XA-361". In June 2006, the Slovenian Ministry of Defence declared that the Patria AMV would be the new armoured fighting vehicle of the Slovenian Armed Forces. Patria will supply 135 vehicles, some equipped with the NEMO mortar, some with Elbit 30 mm remote controlled weapon station and the rest with Kongsberg Protector turrets. Allegations  in the Finnish media that Patria used bribery to secure the Slovenian contract led to a scandal and a criminal investigation in Finland and may have contributed to the defeat of Prime Minister Janez Janša in the 2008 Slovenian parliamentary elections. Due to the financial crisis, the defence budget was cut several times. At first, the contract to supply 135 vehicles should have been amended to have less vehicles with better armament. Later on, the defence ministry suffered from even bigger financial cuts. In 2012, the Defence Minister announced the termination of the contract, by which time 30 vehicles had  been received. More armored vehicles and higher calibre weapons are to be bought in the mid-term future. In May 2007, the South African Denel Land Systems was awarded a contract to build an improved version of the AMV, with a high level of ballistic and mine protection for the South African National Defence Force. The AMV will replace South-African Ratels as part of the "Project Hoefyster" (Horseshoe). Five different versions are included: Command, Mortar, Missile, Section and Fire Support vehicles. In November 2013, Denel Land Systems and Patria announced that they have signed an agreement regarding Patria AMV  8×8 armoured wheeled vehicle serial production and delivery to South Africa. The agreement includes 238 vehicles, out of which 5 pre-series vehicles have already been delivered during the development phase. In July 2007, the Croatian Ministry of Defence selected the Patria AMV as the new armoured fighting vehicle of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia in their first international tender in its history. 84 AMVs will be supplied. Initially, the plan called for 84 8×8 vehicles and 42 6×6 vehicles. The Croatian Ministry of Defence has approved the purchase of 84 Patria AMV 8×8 vehicles. The 6×6  configuration idea was scrapped, and the remaining 42 vehicles were decided to be 8×8s. The purchase of the remaining 42 AMVs was made in December 2008. Due to the financial crisis, the contract was slightly amended in April 2010. There was an initial plan of shelving the order by a half (64 vehicles were mentioned) but it was decided that the total of 126 units would remain on order. However, in order to somewhat decrease the cost of the deal, the most expensive variants like the NEMO or engineering units will probably be replaced by less costly APC variants. On  the other hand, the production will be sped up and all vehicles are to be delivered by the end of 2012. The government of the Republic of North Macedonia announced in 2006 that it would procure the same type that the Croatian military chooses after test trials in 2007—as this would be a less expensive than conducting trials of their own. The configuration of Patria vehicles that eventually win the competition will be similar to those in Slovenian service, but probably in smaller numbers. However, any contract has not been published. In January 2008, Patria announced that the United  Arab Emirates armed forces had ordered the AMV, equipped with the BMP-3 turret. The number of vehicles is yet to be announced. On 30 January 2008, it was announced that Patria has offered to deliver 30 first AMVs within four months of ordering, if the Czech Army chooses AMV as its next APC. The Czech army had earlier chosen the Austrian Steyr Pandur as their next APC, but the Czech government withdrew from the deal at the end of last year, citing Steyr's failure to fulfill the commitments ensuing from the contract. In August 2010, Patria sold 113 AMVs  to Sweden in a deal worth 250 million Euros. The deal included an option for another 113 vehicles in the future. See also. Comparable systems