Denmark signs last three CAVS agreements and orders Patria 6×6 APCs

DALO has signed a contract for 129 Patria 6×6 vehicles. (Patria)

Denmark has signed the last three Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) agreements, followed by orders for 129 Patria 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), the Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Patria announced on 14 July. Patria said in a press release on 14 July that Denmark signed the CAVS research and development, frame, and life-cycle agreements, which the Danish MoD said on its website the same day was followed by the contract signing by its Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO).

The first vehicles are scheduled to be delivered in 2025, with deliveries continuing in the coming years. The Danish MoD said the accelerated procurement would strengthen the Danish Armed Forces and allow training on the vehicles to begin quickly. Danish Minister of Defence Troels Lund Poulsen noted that the vehicles would equip Denmark's light infantry battalion and heavy brigade. Colonel Thomas Øgendahl Knudsen, head of DALO's land division, said the Patria 6×6 vehicle “meets [Denmark's] requirements for interoperability and security of supply, while supporting increased defence co-operation with Nordic, European, and NATO countries”.

The APCs will equip the Danish army's light infantry battalion and heavy brigade and will be operated by infantry and engineer units as command post, communications, ambulance, and electronic warfare vehicles. A DALO spokesperson told Janes on 9 April that the APCs would be delivered primarily as infantry variants.

Patria and the Danish MoD announced on 1 April that Denmark had joined the Finnish-led CAVS programme with the signature of its technical agreement, with the ministry valuing the procurement at DKK1.9 billion (USD297.5 million). The procurement is financed by the acceleration fund agreed under Denmark's cross-party agreement to strengthen the Danish Armed Forces.