Finnish armored personnel carriers to replenish the armored fleet of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Finland is preparing another batch of military equipment worth 94 million euros to be transferred to Ukraine. This will be the 18th package of support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which has totaled 1.3 billion euros during the war.
Although for operational reasons the Finnish Ministry of Defense does not disclose the details of the delivery schedule, logistics map, volumes and types of equipment, there are still some guesses. Moreover, the law enforcement agency is not going to delay the new tranche.
“Finland and our allies’ support for Ukraine remains unwavering. The main issue of the future security order in Europe and Finland is the ability to curb Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” said Defense Minister Antti Hakkänen.
An official document from the Finnish Defense Ministry states that the decision on additional assistance took into account both the resources and capabilities of its armed forces and Ukraine’s most urgent needs for equipment. No one makes a secret of the fact that the Finns have powerful armored vehicle resources and their own APC production.
Since last fall, local armor manufacturer Sisu has been using the equipment in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and it has proven itself.
Armored personnel carriers of even the previous generation will be a godsend for the Armed Forces on the front line, where the age of the equipment lasts from two or three days to several weeks. Photo from open sources
The Finnish army has almost five hundred APCs of various modifications, ranging from XA-180/185 to XA-202 and XA-203. Some of this equipment will be subject to scheduled replacement and will likely be delivered to Ukraine.
Most likely, we are talking about the allocation of Sisu Pasi XA-180/185 to Ukraine. The mentioned machine models belong to the very first generation of the Finnish manufacturer. They are not much inferior to the Ukrainian APCs of the Soviet era, and even better in terms of ergonomics.
For example, the Finnish vehicle has full side doors for quick boarding and disembarking of the driver and commander, and aft double doors for troops. The Soviet BTR-60 has no doors, and narrow hatches on the top and partially on the side do not allow you to leave the vehicle quickly or enter the landing compartment.
That’s why the Finnish all-wheel drive six-wheeler XA-180/185 was chosen by Ukrainian marines. Photos and video clips of this vehicle, which has a power of 270 hp (Valmet 611 DSBJA with Allison MD 3560 automatic transmission) and machine gun armament (7.62/12.7 mm), are often posted on the Internet. In the hands of our warriors, the armored personnel carrier has become a formidable combat tool for destroying the enemy.
If Finland provides us with even ‘one hundred and eighty’ or ‘one hundred and eighty-five’ vehicles in the 18th aid package, it will be a positive thing, not to mention the more modern XA 200/203 with a cannon.
