After approval by the Government of the Slovak Republic, Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď has been instructed to conclude a contract with the Finnish Government for the supply of 76 8×8 wheeled armored vehicles of the Armored Modular Vehicle AMV XP type. According to a statement from the Slovakian Ministry of Defense, the vehicles for the 8×8 BOV (Bojovými Obrnenými Vozidlami) program will be delivered by Patria. The contract has a value of 447 million euros and, in addition to the vehicles, includes services for logistics, ammunition and infrastructure. Delivery of the vehicles is scheduled to begin in 2023.
At the end of 2021, five companies submitted an offer and made vehicles available for testing in February of this year. From the offers of the governments of Finland (AMV XP, Patria), Spain (VCR 8×8 Dragón, GDELS), the Czech Republic (Pandur II, Tatra), the USA (Stryker LAV III, GDLS) and Romania (Piranha V, GDELS) was chosen by the Finnish government. In addition to the technical assessment and life cycle costs, the participation of the local economy accounted for 25 percent, as the ministry writes.
Das AMV XP ist die neueste Version des seit 2004 von Patria in Serie produzierten geschützten 8×8-Radfahrzeugs. Von bis zu 32 Tonnen Gesamtgewicht stehen maximal 15 Tonnen für Nutzlast zur Verfügung. Der Grundschutz kann modular bis zu Level 5 nach STANAG 4569 gesteigert werden. Als Antrieb verwendet Patria einen 480-kW-Dieselmotor von Scania in Verbindung mit einem automatischen Getriebe. Die einzeln aufgehängten Räder verfügen über Notlaufeigenschaften und können über eine zentrale Reifendruckregelung dem Gelände angepasst werden. Die hydraulisch unterstützte Lenkung wirkt auf die 1., 2. und 4. Achse.
The remotely controlled Turra-30 turret from the Slovakian company EVPU was chosen for armament. The main weapon is a 30mm machine cannon, which is complemented by a 7.62 machine gun and guided anti-tank missiles. This makes the tower also suitable for defending low-flying targets at distances of up to 2,500 m.
According to Defense Minister Naď, the new vehicles will replace armored personnel carriers that are at the end of their technical service life. The new combat vehicles are also the basis for fulfilling Allied obligations to create a heavy mechanized brigade.
Editorial staff / gwh
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