On February 14th, representatives of the Finnish company Patria, met with the MPs from the parliamentary defense committee at the National Assembly. Patria intends to take part in the modernization of the Bulgarian Army by participating in the procedure for the acquisition of new armored vehicles for the Land Forces.

The president of Patria Land System Mika Kari and the vice president of Patria Land System Markku Koivisto presented to the MPs from the parliamentary defense committee the company’s proposal for a new armored vehicle for the LF - the Patria AMV. The Patria AMV is a modern armored 8x8 vehicle that combines together capabilities such as high level of protection, agility, mobility, convenience and firepower, as well as ability to operate under Eastern and NATO weapons caliber. Apart from this, the vehicle has amphibious capability that makes is more adaptable for overcoming water obstacles and fit for use under different climatic conditions.

An important part of Patria’s proposal to the Bulgarian side is the possibility the vehicles to be produced in Bulgaria by transfer of technology and know-how. Patria has presented the key success elements of a technology transfer program – evaluation, detailed planning, building up factory facilities, support of the implementation and product deliveries, as well as support in the fielding phase. Under the technology transfer the local partner will receive all documentation and training, onsite support, equipment and tools to start the production. Patria has considerable experience in this sphere and has performed transfer of technology for defense production in Poland, Slovenia, Croatia and South Africa, and is currently in discussions on new projects. One of the success stories is in Poland - the Rosomak plant near the town of Katowice. This would help the development of the Bulgarian defense industry, would lead to opening new workplaces, as well as would allow the future independent maintenance of the armored vehicles from foreign suppliers and services, and lower overall costs. Already Patria has meet with representatives of Bulgarian companies - its potential future partners.

Patria is one of the seven companies that received a Request for Information (RFI) from the government at the end of 2016 to present proposals for a new armored vehicle for the Bulgarian Army. Markku Koivisto expressed its satisfaction from the transparent and fair procedure for the acquisition of new fighting machines for the Bulgarian LF.

The MPs from the parliamentary defense committee were interested in the specific local technology transfer offered by Patria.  „ Local production has to be defined in detail because many companies promises are huge at this stage.  Companies former experience of technology transfer should be carefully estimated. Industrial cooperation must be defined in great detail. It should boost the Bulgarian defense industry which would receive not only investments but also new know-how and new export possibilities. It is important that by the final project estimation the maintenance and repair costs during the entire lifecycle are taken into account and not only the costs for acquisition” said Markku Koivisto

Patria is a trusted provider of defense, security and aviation life-cycle support services and technology solutions. Versatile duties employ today some 2 800 skilled professionals. Patria is owned by the State of Finland (50.1%) and Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (49.9%). www.patria.fi

www.patria.fi

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