Latvia will produce even more armored vehicles thanks to construction of new Finnish Patria facility in Valmiera industrial park. This will complement already existing capacities there, where Patria 6×6 APCs were manufactured for Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Besides Finnish APC production, new facility will handle tracked Hunter IFVs, also known as Mednieks. This concerns not only vehicle manufacturing but also full lifecycle maintenance.
Read more: ​Ukrainian Reconnaissance Drone Detects russian Irbis Counter-Battery Radar (Video)
First Mednieks (Hunter) IFV based on ASCOD for Latvian Armed Forces / Photo credit: Latvian MoD
Construction of additional production capacities is planned for completion in third quarter of 2027. Overall they will help strengthen local and global supply chains.
Defense Express notes total volume of all Patria 6×6 orders exceeded 2,000 units. Therefore availability of additional component suppliers and production sites will come in handy.
Swedish Armed Forces Patria 6×6 APC / Photo credit: FMV
Currently Latvia has order for 84 Hunter IFVs from GDELS, first of which was already delivered to Latvian military. Project envisages 30% production localization.
Also country purchased Patria 6×6 APCs totaling 256 units under unified European armored vehicle project CAVS. Of these approximately one hundred vehicles already entered service.
Latvian-produced Patria 6×6 APC for Latvian Armed Forces / Photo credit: Patria
Worth recalling Latvia manufactured 42 Patria 6×6 APCs for Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of military aid. They were delivered in approximately one year, which is quite fast considering this involves actual manufacturing.
Specifically, announcement was in November 2024, first vehicle production was shown in February 2025, and in July transfer of first batch was reported. Vehicles were later spotted in service with 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.
Patria 6×6 in service with 3rd Separate Assault Brigade / Open source photo
Meaning already existing Patria 6×6 production rates are quite decent. Quite likely thanks to new factory, production localization degree will be deepened and output volumes increased along with mastering Hunter IFV work.
Read more: China Modernized KD-63 Missile, Based on Soviet P-15 Termit, for Its Tu-16 Clone