After the Ministry of Defense signed a letter of intent to join the Finnish-led CAVS (Common Armored Vehicle System) program for a new 6X6 transport vehicle back in June 2022, Germany has now officially joined the program. According to a press release by the Finnish armaments group Patria, Germany today signed the so-called Technical Arrangement (TA) of the multinational CAVS program. "By signing the Technical Agreement, Germany has now officially joined the program," the company writes in its statement. In addition, Sweden – which officially joined the program in 2022 – has today ordered 20 CAVS vehicles, the first of which are to be delivered to Sweden in 2023.
The purpose of Germany's entry into the program is apparently to examine the extent to which the outdated fleet of Bundeswehr armored transport vehicles Fuchs could be replaced by a vehicle that is available on the market. Around 900 Fuchs armored transport vehicles in around 30 different variants are currently still in use in the Bundeswehr.
Germany's mere accession to the program is not automatically followed by the selection decision for a possible Fuchs successor based on the CAVS vehicle. However, joining is a necessity in order to test the vehicles in the German armed forces and thus prepare a future selection decision. The Federal Ministry of Defense announced on November 1, 2022 that it intends to procure Patria vehicles for internal Bundeswehr tests. As a prerequisite for starting the Fuchs successor project, “a potential successor system for the Fuchs TPz, the Finnish Patria system, that has been identified by the army and is available on the market, will be tested in 2023,” said Parliamentary State Secretary Siemtje Möller in a letter to members of the Bundestag - Budget Committee. According to reports, a corresponding 25 million template is planned for the second half of 2023, with which the test vehicles are to be purchased.
CAVS
CAVS ist ein multinationales Programm für ein 6×6-Transportfahrzeug, welches unter finnischer Führung läuft. Finnland, Lettland und Estland nehmen seit 2019 an dem Programm teil, Schweden seit 2021. Deutschland ist nun die fünfte Nation, die sich an CAVS beteiligt. Patria ist als Anbieter der 6×6-Fahrzeugplattform für die Systementwicklung im Rahmen von CAVS verantwortlich.
The Patria 6×6 is based on a vehicle with the same drive formula that was built by Sisu for the Finnish armed forces at the time – also known as the Patria XA. This was about the same generation of wheeled armored vehicles as the Fuchs. According to the manufacturer, a key difference between the new Patria 6×6 and the Sisu vehicle is the independent wheel suspension, a more powerful Scania truck engine – 294 kW of power and a torque of 1,870 Nm – and modern electronics.
The only major component from Germany is the ZF gearbox. The maximum weight is given as 24 tons, of which 8.5 tons is the payload. Protection reaches STANAG 4569 Level 2 (ballistic and mine protection). According to the manufacturer, level 4 (ballistic and mine protection) can also be implemented as an option.
If the Bundeswehr decides in favor of the Finnish armored personnel carrier, licensed production in Germany is also conceivable, as Patria CEO Esa Rautalinko explained in an interview with the Handelsblatt in early January 2023. According to well-informed circles, the company is currently in talks with several German tank builders about what license production in Germany could look like. According to reports, talks have been or are being held with FFG Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft mbH, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall, but according to well-informed circles no decision has yet been made.
Waldemar Geiger
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