The foundation for a secure future

Patria’s history began in 1921 with the establishment of the Finnish Air Force Aircraft Factory at Suomenlinna. The operations began with licensed manufacturing of the German Hansa-Brandenburg aircraft.

The Lapua Cartridge Factory was established in 1923 in Lapua, Finland, to supply cartridges for the country. Since 1998, it has operated as Nammo Lapua Oy as part of the Nammo Group.

Construction of the Vihtavuori facility of the State Gunpowder Factory begins.

The Finnish heavy weapons industry has its roots in Tampella, an industrial conglomerate founded in the 19th century, which started manufacturing mortars in 1932.
More than 700 mortars were made for the needs of the Finnish Defence Forces, the deliveries continued throughout the war. At the same time, almost 600 mortars were manufactured for export.

The licensed manufacturing of the British Bristol Blenheim bombers began in 1938 and was the factory’s most demanding project
until then.

• Maintenance of engines begins in Linnavuori.
• Yhteissisu Oy is established.
• The Vammaskoski factory of the Defence Forces is established.

Yhteissisu Oy (as of 1948, Vanajan Autotehdas Oy) was founded in 1943. During the Continuation War, new and replacement
trucks and buses were needed, and their deliveries to the Finnish Defence Forces amounted to 7,000 vehicles.
Over the years, the focus shifted towards military vehicles.

• In the 1940s and 1950s, Vanajan Autotehdas manufactured, for example, buses, trucks, and gun carriages for a wide range of needs in post-war Finland.
• The State Aircraft Factory manufactured compressors, auxiliary and wood-gas engines for ships, as well as engines for boats and tractors. 

The 122 K/60, the first field gun fully developed in Finland, was completed in 1959.

The Finnish aviation industry enters the jet engine era with the Fouga Magister.

In 1962, Linnavuori’s aircraft engine department repaired the first Fouga’s Marboré engines, and the repair of marine engines
began in Linnavuori in 1963.

In the 1970s, Patria moved on to manufacturing military vehicles and the Sisu A-45, medium-heavy off-road truck with a two-axle four-wheel drive, was born.

In 1972, the Kuorevesi factory started the assembly of 12 Swedish Saab 35 S Draken fighters. It

In 1980–1985, the Kuorevesi factory assembled 45 British Hawk jet trainers, which replaced the outdated French Fouga Magister trainers. 

The serial production of armoured wheeled vehicles started in 1984, when the Panssari-Sisu (Armoured Sisu in English), or Pasi
XA-180, entered production.

In 1985, Tampella began manufacturing the field gun 155 K 83, designed by the legendary gun designer Marcus Collin.

In 1987, the Lapua Cartridge Factory begins manufacturing the .338 Lapua Magnum, developed by the company.

Finland entered the era of Hornet F-18 fighters in 1995. Patria assembled the majority of the Finnish Air Force's more than 60 F-18s.

Patria Industries Oy is established in 1996, and Vammas Oy, Lapua Oy, Sisu Defence Oy, Vihtavuori Oy and Finavitec Oy are merged into Patria 1997.

In 1997, Patria acquired the electronics business of the Finnyards shipyard in Tampere and continued Finnyards' investments in space technology; this was the ground for Patria's intelligence, surveillance, and command and control systems

In 1997 began the story of modern turreted mortar systems began - in collaboration with the Swedish Company Hägglund Vehicles, Patria developed a completely new AMOS mortar system (Advanced Mortar System) combining firepower, mobility, and protection.

Nammo AS (Nordic Ammunition Company) was founded in 1998. The company, jointly owned by Patria and the State of Norway, focuses on the production of ammunition, rocket engines, and space applications.

In 1998, Patria acquired the Swedish company Ostermans Aero, which history stretching all the way back to the 1940s.

Patria Industries and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS sign an agreement making EADS the owner of Patria with a 26.8% stake. EADS became Airbus Group in 2014.

Patria begins the manufacturing of composite aircraft structures for Airbus.

Civil flight training at Patria started in 2003, followed by military flight training in 2005 after the Finnish Air Force reformed its training system. On February 1, 2025, Patria agreed to sell its subsidiary, Patria Pilot Training Oy, to Airways Aviation Group.

In 2003, Patria begins the assembly of NH90 transport helicopters for the needs of the Finnish and Swedish Defence Forces.

The serial production of the Patria AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) begins. Patria AMV 8x8 vehicles have been sold to Poland and Sweden, among others.

In 2006, the single-barrelled mortar turret Nemo – which was lighter and lower priced than AMOS – was introduced.

Millog was established in 2006 as a consortium, with Patria holding majority of the shares.

The remote operable ELINT system ARIS developed by Patria was deployed to operational use in 2010.

In March 2013, Patria handed over the first AMV armoured vehicles to the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV).

On 9 December 2014, Patria acquired the 26.8% of its shares previously owned by Airbus Group (formerly EADS). After cancelling part of these shares, Patria remained fully controlled by the State of Finland.

As the importance of data and data transmission grew, in 2016, Patria introduced a CANDL data link solution that is suited for both military and civil systems.

Norwegian Kongsberg acquired a minority stake of 49.9% in Patria - while the State of Finland retains 50.1%.

In October 2017, Patria entered into an agreement with Mootor Grupp to acquire a 60% stake in Milrem LCM OÜ, the largest defence maintenance contractor in Estonia. The remaining 40% ownership was retained by the Estonian company Sinrob OÜ.
In 2020 Milrem LCM was named Milworks.

The ownership of Pratt & Whitney Belgium Engine Center transfers to Patria under the name Patria Belgium Engine Center SRL (PBEC).

Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme began in 2019 as a multinational cooperation initiative. The programme was initially established by Finland and Latvia, with the objective of introducing a jointly developed state-of-the-art new armoured vehicle system. As of now, the participating countries are Finland, Latvia, Sweden, Germany and Denmark. 

In June 2019, Patria signed an agreement with Leonardo Helicopters for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the Norwegian Police’s new AW169 helicopters. 

In February 2020, Patria acquired 100% of shares of Milrem Latvia SIA from Milrem LCM OÜ and named the company Patria Latvia. 

In 2021, Patria turned 100 years old. The theme of the anniversary was “The foundation for a secure future”. 

In March 2022, Patria announced its acquisition of 100% of the shares of NEDAERO, a leading Dutch specialist in defence and aerospace components and parts. The transaction was completed in April 2022 and company was named Patria Netherlands B.V.

In 2022, Patria AMVXP 8x8 vehicle selected by Japan as a new Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (WAPC) for Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

In 2023, the Finnish Navy’s Hamina-Class modernisation and Mid-Life Upgrade project reached final approval in which Patria acted as the prime contractor.

In October, 2024, at the Future Mortar Systems conference in London, UK, Patria launched Patria TREMOS. This robust and cost-effective mortar system increases the mobility and accuracy of trusted, traditional high firepower mortars. 

In 2024, Patria NEMO Navy gained international recognition as Sweden ordered eight of its mortar systems.

In 2024, FAMOUS consortium led by Patria started the development of the next generation armoured vehicles. The FAMOUS programme optimizes synergies, standardization, commonalities, innovative technologies, and interoperability capabilities in All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) and an upgrade to Main Battle Tank (MTB) capabilities.

On May 24, 2024, Patria inaugurated a new armored vehicle production facility in Valmiera, Latvia.

29.1.2025, Patria acquires ILIAS Solutions to strengthen digital defence capabilities and readiness. With the acquisition of the number-one digital defence platform for fleet management, Patria enhances its digital services.
The transaction will undergo the authority approval process in countries where ILIAS Solutions has offices, including Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, Denmark and Australia.

Patria agreed on June 30, 2025, to sell its 60% stake in Estonia's Milworks OU to Mootor Group. Patria had acquired Milworks in October 2017.

Patria held the official opening ceremony for the F-35 production facility on Friday, 13 June 2025, at its Halli site in Jämsä, Finland.