This is the first such vehicle procurement for the National Armed Forces (NBS), given that there is no similar machinery in the Latvian army at the moment.
Ten soldiers can fit in these vehicles. If they fully comply with all the technical specifications of the NBS, the first s vehicles could be received by the armed forces this year.
NBS Commander Leonīds Kalniņš said: “It's absolutely adapted for a soldier in full equipment to move, execute a task, quickly exit the mobile platform, go back. It can float. Both national guardsmen and soldiers worked on this design, so I have absolutely no doubt that they will meet the requirements we need."
The Ministry of Defense would be gradually prepared to purchase up to 300 such armored vehicles, spending up to €200 million.
The Ministry hopes that thanks to cooperation between the two countries, which has already started involving Latvian companies at the research and development stage, the Latvian economy could receive around €60 to €70 million.
At the end of 2019, Estonia also signed its intention to join the project, but later suspended it, preferring the modernization of its already purchased armored vehicles, including those produced in Finland. Meanwhile, Sweden, which has decided in recent years to significantly increase its military budget, has started to show an interest in joining the project.
