18 January 2001

The first of the XA series of 6 x 6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) was developed in the early 1980s by the now Patria Vehicles. Since then the vehicle has been continuously developed; the latest model is the XA-200 series, which has been used extensively in UN-type operations.

The vehicle is normally armed with a pintle-mounted 12.7mm machine gun but a wide range of other turrets and weapon systems can be fitted.

The original production vehicles were fully amphibious, propelled in the water by two propellers mounted at the rear. But the latest vehicles, which have increased armour protection, are not amphibious.

Standard equipment includes power steering and a front-mounted winch. A wide range of optional equipment can be fitted including an NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection system and different armour packages.

Specifications

Crew: 3 + 8

Configuration: 6 x 6

Armament: 1x 12.7mm M2 machine gun (typical)

Combat weight: 22,000kg

Power-to-weight ratio: 13.4hp/t

Power pack: Valmet six-cylinder diesel developing 295hp coupled to Allison automatic transmission

Length: 7.45m

Width: 2.95m

Height: 2.6m

Max speed: 90km/h

Range: 800km

Airportable: C-130 Hercules

Status

In production. In service with Finland (500 plus), Ireland (2), Norway (80), Sweden (31 plus, 104 on order) and Netherlands 92 (72 Army and 20 Marines).

Variants

Finland's baseline APC has a 12.7mm machine gun, but specialised versions in service include command post, air defence radar carrier with Giraffe radar and air defence armed with Thomson-CSF Crotale (New Generation). Other versions at the prototype stage include armed with a 25mm or 30mm cannon and fitted with a two-person AMOS twin 120mm mortar system.

Manufacturer

Patria Vehicles Øy, Hameenlinna, Finland

XA series of 6 x 6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) (Source: M Jerchel)