Patria this week unveiled the prototype of their new self-propelled ARVE 155 mm artillery solution, a system that is expected to be offered to the Finnish Navy to answer their new mobile coastal artillery requirement.
The coastal artillery did operate towed heavy artillery during the Cold War, first in the form of ex-Soviet 152 mm ML-20 howitzers and from the 1970’s onwards with the for the role vastly superior 130 mm M-46 field gun. This remained the main system of the mobile coastal artillery until the Finnish Defence Forces disbanded the whole arm in the mid-00’s. Fixed 130 mm guns remain in use, and it is these that the Navy will now replace with a mobile coastal artillery system employing NATO standard 155 mm rounds and featuring a high degree of mobility.
The ARVE presented by Patria at their Arctic Event integrates the company’s existing towed 155 mm gun-howitzers onto a Sisu E13TP 8×8 all-terrain truck, providing a system that is more mobile than the existing towed guns but otherwise with similar handling and performance. This would mean a max range with the 52-calibre long barrel of the prototype of 40 km, the ability to get away 3 rounds in the first 15 seconds, as well as manual reloading and gun-laying. Compared to the expected competition – then FDF Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics and Armaments, Lieutenant General Mikko Heiskanen in an interview last year mentioned BAE Systems Archer, Elbit Atmos, KNDS CAESAR, and KONŠTRUKTA-Defence ZUZANA 2 as systems that could fit the requirements – the figures are relatively unimpressive, but at the same time the system is developed with a focus on robustness and affordability, something the reservist-based FDF often has valued in its acquisitions.
When asked about the upcoming coastal artillery programme, a company representative of Patria brought up their unique references:
“In Finland there are currently artillery from two manufacturers, there’s newer self-propelled tracked guns from South Korea [K9 Moukari] and all the rest are from Patria or our predecessors. Obviously, a possible outcome we believe in is that we will be able to continue our cooperation with the Finnish Defence Forces.”
And while ARVE is currently centred around the possibility of upgrading the Finnish Army’s existing 155 mm towed gun-howitzers, Patria emphasizes their ability to produce new guns from scratch, something the company has not done for twenty years. “We’ve got all the needed capabilities. While we haven’t produced new guns for a while, we have been producing spare parts worth millions of euros during the last decade. And this includes all critical components.”
This is confirmed to include gun barrels, usually the most demanding individual part as it requires specialised machinery. As such, it is possible to offer ARVE for the coastal artillery, without the Army having to give up one of their towed batteries. Patria mentions servo-controlled laying, improvements to the fire-control system, and a follow-through loading devices as developmental targets. For the coastal artillery, where targets are moving at speed, these developmental targets could certainly be of interest.
