According to Romanovs, the total investment for setting up the facility amounted to 10 million euros, including not only the equipment necessary for production and assembly but also the testing infrastructure and a warehouse, as well as the construction of the production and office building financed by Valmiera City Council, which Patria leases from the municipality. ‘The construction of the APC testing infrastructure and another warehouse is still underway in Valmiera, and should be over in August,’ Romanovs said. He emphasised the vital importance of testing in the production of the armoured vehicles, which is why the construction work includes a buoyancy testing pool, a brake testing hill, and a winch testing area. ‘The production of military combat vehicles has become a reality in Latvia, but this is only the beginning because the Latvian government has set the goal of improving the reliability of supply in this field, setting favourable conditions for the development of the country’s defence industry. So, I think that the coming years will see new military security and defence projects implemented by Latvian defence companies,’ Romanovs noted. Second production site in the world ‘The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Patria in August 2021, and the first armoured vehicles were delivered to the National Armed Forces in November that same year. Some of the assembly of the 6x6 APCs began at Defence Partnership Latvia in the spring of 2022, once the company’s specialists returned from a six-month secondment/internship in Finland. In May 2024, we started the full assembly of the vehicles at our new production facility in Valmiera. In the military sector, it is not often that a project of this size is completed in such a short time,’ Romanovs said. The current order for Patria 6x6 currently exceeds 700 vehicles. According to Romanovs, as of now, Patria Group only has two 6x6 production plants: in Hamenlinna, Finland, and in Valmiera. Germany joins in In addition to Finland, which leads the Patria 6x6 armoured vehicle programme, Latvia, Sweden and Germany have joined it as well. ‘In fairness, Germany has so far only signed a research and development agreement,’ Romanovs said. He pointed out, however, that other countries have also expressed interest in joining the Patria 6x6 programme. ‘So I have no doubt that Valmiera will be making APCs for the armed forces of other countries as well,’ Romanovs indicated. Less than three years has been enough for a cluster of Latvian companies to be created that make components for armoured personnel carriers, as well as maintain and assemble the vehicles. Currently, there are six Latvian companies in the Patria 6x6 cluster. ‘Of course, we need to keep in mind that many parts of the vehicles, like the engines, tyres, and other components were, are, and will be supplied from abroad, so we have to have warehouses for them in Latvia. Latvia’s defence industry is only nascent, although its contribution, albeit very small, is already felt,’ Romanovs said.