The Common Armoured Vehicle System (CAVS) programme has entered a new phase with the establishment of its multinational programme management office within the Defence Forces Logistics Command Headquarters. The official opening ceremony took place in Tampere on 30 September 2025.

 

Personnel from Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Latvia are assigned to the office, which operates under the authority of the CAVS Programme Director. While they remain part of their national organisations, the office is tasked with managing the programme as a whole and ensuring common goals are met.

The programme office is funded through the European Union’s European Defence Industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act (EDIRPA). The CAVS programme has been awarded EUR 60 million to support joint contracts and the development of new vehicle variants.

 

 

“The establishment of the programme management office strengthens the collective management of the CAVS programme and marks an important step, as this is the first multinational defence materiel project in which Finland acts as the lead nation,” said Brigadier General Engineering Juha-Matti Ylitalo, Chair of the CAVS Programme Steering Committee and Deputy Chief of the Defence Forces Logistics Command.

The CAVS initiative is a joint 6×6 armoured vehicle development and procurement effort by Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Germany, Denmark, Norway and the United Kingdom. It also covers sustainment and is open to new members, with the programme management headed by Project Director Liisa Nevalainen from the Joint Systems Centre.

CAVS vehicles, supplied by Patria, are based on a common platform with several variants including an armoured personnel carrier, a command vehicle, a heavily armoured version for crisis management missions, and a fire support vehicle equipped with the NEMO mortar system. Further versions may be developed in line with participating nations’ requirements.

 

 

Nearly 1,000 CAVS vehicles have been ordered, with about 200 already delivered. Finland has purchased 161 XA-300 armoured personnel carriers, scheduled for delivery between 2023 and 2026, managed under the Army’s Armoured Vehicle 2020 programme.

“The programme office enables the effective administration and leadership of the rapidly expanding CAVS programme. The model is new and innovative, and it sets an example of how European joint defence materiel procurements can be carried out with the support of EU EDIRPA funding. It also allows us to combine the expertise of all CAVS nations for the benefit of the programme as a whole,” summarised Nevalainen, who will take over as Head of the programme management office on 1 November.

 

Source: Finnish Defence Forces (press release).