Representatives of KNDS Germany and the Finnish defense company Patria have reaffirmed their industrial cooperation and discussed with Saarland’s Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger the possible opportunities for the state of Saarland. On August 11, 2026 KNDS Germany Maintenance and Patria signed a framework agreement for the manufacture of the Patria 6×6 armored transport vehicle within the multinational Common Armoured Vehicles (CAVS) program. By the end of the year, the first serial vehicles, still produced in Finland, will be outfitted with their specific upgrade kits in Freisen and fully assembled.
During a working visit between Jyri Häkämies, Chairman of Patria’s Board of Directors, and Florian Hohenwarter, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KNDS Germany as well as KNDS Germany Maintenance, the collaboration between the two houses was reaffirmed for one of the successful European flagship programs in the defense sector. Given the great importance of this order for KNDS Germany Maintenance and the entire region around the Freisen site, the Saarland Premier Minister Anke Rehlinger used the opportunity to exchange views with the company heads.
Collaborating with all Stakeholders Is Simply Fantastic
“The Patria contract is of great importance for Freisen – and for the entire Saarland,” said Rehlinger. “Here, industrial value creation, qualified jobs, and long-term prospects for the site are being built. The collaboration between KNDS and Patria also shows what Europe can achieve together: pooling industrial competences, strengthening our own capacities, and taking on more responsibility for our security. The project is also a prime example of what can be achieved when industry and state policy pull in the same direction.”
During the visit, Christoph Cords, CEO of KNDS Germany Maintenance, presented, among other things, KNDS work packages in the CAVS program and informed about the status of the establishment of serial production in Freisen. The scaling potential was also a topic of the discussions. “Even during the contract negotiations, it became clear what a strong cooperation partner Patria is,” said Cords. “The collaboration with all participants in the CAVS program – Patria, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, BAAINBw – but also at the political level – is exemplary and simply terrific, on an equal footing and highly constructive.”
Special Cooperation Between KNDS and Patria
Florian Hohenwarter, CEO of KNDS Germany, emphasized the uniqueness of the cooperation between KNDS and Patria: “In the spirit of strengthening European production capacities for defense goods, we are taking new paths as a system house and bring our know-how and experience to the CAVS program through our subsidiary KNDS Germany Maintenance as a subcontractor of Patria. We are convinced: with this cooperation we will sustainably strengthen the European CAVS program, which is not least important for the Bundeswehr.”
Jussi Järvinen, Executive Vice President Protected Mobility of Patria, also expressed great satisfaction with the program’s status: “Our collaboration with KNDS is proceeding as planned and is an important building block for establishing reliable industrial capacities for the German CAVS program. The combination of Patria’s 6×6 expertise and technology transfer for the local capability development of KNDS strengthens supply security, creates value in Germany, and supports the European production capacities in the defense sector.”
Germany has a total requirement of 4,000 CAVS 6×6
Germany has two contracts for up to 876 CAVS. Of these, the first encompassed the procurement of ten troop transporters, 170 engineer company transporters (plus option for 54 more) and 48 armored reconnaissance company transporters (plus option for 14) valued at 959 million euros. The second included the variant with the 120-mm mortar turret NEMO (69 plus 61 options) as well as 52 fire-control vehicles (plus 398 options) and brought the total value to over two billion euros. In total, the Bundeswehr has a need for 4,000 Patria 6×6 as the successor to the Fuchs armored transport vehicle. This would make it by far the largest user within the framework of the CAVS program.
CAVS is based on the successful Patria AMV and is a three-axle amphibious armored vehicle with a curb weight of 15.5 tonnes and a permissible gross weight of 24 tonnes. The basic protection corresponds to STANAG 4569 Level 2 and can be reinforced up to Level 4 (against armor‑piercing ammunition of caliber 14.5 mm). The vehicle accommodates a crew of two to three and eight to ten passengers. It is powered by a Scania AB diesel engine with 294 kW (394 hp). Top speed is over 100 km/h on the road and eight km/h in water, with a maximum range of more than 700 kilometers.
