Land 400 Phase 2 contender Patria (teamed with prime contractor BAE Systems Australia) has been awarded a contract to supply up to 40 hulls of its 8x8 Armoured Modular Vehicles (AMVs) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The hulls, which will be built by Polish builder Rosomak SA under licence, will, according to an IHS Janes source, be equipped with remote weapons stations armed with 12.7 millimetre machine guns or 40 millimetre automatic grenade launchers.
The contract contains an option for a further 50 lengthened hulls, which would likely be fitted with the BMP-3 turret, already in active service with BMP-3s in the UAE armed forces. The source had said the variants would be fitted with an unspecified “larger-calibre armament”.
Mika Kari, president of Patria Land business unit said the UAE Armed Forces had been very satisfied with their existing AMVs. The UAE has had an evaluation batch of AMVs since 2008.
“These vehicles will be produced by our Polish partner in a very tight time schedule,” Kari said. “The agreement done now is very significant for Patria, and we are excited about this and looking forward to providing the vehicles.”
The Rosomak-built AMV variant for the Polish Army has earnt a fearsome reputation in Afghanistan among the Taliban, who call it “The Green Demon” due to its non-standard green paint scheme. They have been known to survive multiple RPG attacks – thanks in part to additional steel-composite armour.
The BAE Systems/Patria team will field the AMV35 design for Land 400 Phase 2 and ADM understands Rosomak SA delivered three AMV units to Australia for testing in December last year. The AMV35 will combine Patria’s AMV with BAE Systems-Hägglunds’ E35 turret system.