The Kouvola Security Conference is once again at the forefront of current affairs. Across Europe, nations are pledging historic investments in defense—but will these promises amount to mere rhetoric? Esa Rautalinko, CEO of Patria and a participant in the conference’s thematic discussion, sheds light on the tense situation.
Patria CEO Esa Rautalinko notes that there are significant differences among European NATO member states in how seriously they take defence and security issues. However, the direction is clear:
“Now there is momentum for making decisions that genuinely improve defence capabilities.”
According to Rautalinko, the Nordic countries (perhaps with the exception of Iceland) are not only making the right decisions but are also investing in industrial capabilities, followed by the Baltic countries, Poland, and Germany. “Significant investment decisions have already been made”, Rautalinko states.
Trailing the vanguard, countries like the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Ireland have also raised their profiles. The general European “mobilisation” has already spread so widely that there are now more accelerators than brakes.
“Even in Spain, discussions about increasing investments are underway.”
From words to actions
According to Rautalingo, Europe has certainly given a great deal of thought to defence issues during the war in Ukraine, but often with meagre results. “A lot of time has been lost in the meantime for many countries”, Rautalinko says.
“When those decisions are finally made, there might be a hurry.”
In the current situation, companies like Patria – which have both products and delivery capability in order – are in a strong position, Rautalinko estimates.
When discussing Finland’s military capabilities, one cannot ignore the acquisition of F-35 fighters from the USA. Patria is involved in the fighter project in many ways, for example, by assembling F135 engines and components starting in 2026.
F-35 front fuselages are made in Finland
In June, the opening of the F-35 production facility building was celebrated in Jämsä. The production line enables large-scale assembly of F-35 front fuselages in Finland as part of the global F-35 supply chain.
“The aim is to manufacture 400 front fuselages”, says Rautalinko.
The Jämsä production facility will be completed in autumn 2025 and is part of Finland’s industrial cooperation in the F-35 fighter project. Industrial cooperation related to the F-35 in Finland strengthens capabilities and security of supply and is also significant from a national economic perspective.
A large drone also handles evacuations
Patria’s recent reinforcement in the air domain is drones. Just over a year ago, Patria strengthened its Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offering by acquiring Nordic Drones Oy – and in early summer it was announced that Patria and ACC Innovation had agreed to cooperate on militarizing a large quadcopter drone for a NATO member state.
“We are currently looking at unmanned solutions quite broadly”, confirms Rautalinko. ACC Innovation’s quadcopter drone has a maximum takeoff weight of up to 800 kilograms, so it could be used, for example, for air evacuation of wounded personnel from difficult locations.
“At the same time, it is of course a platform that can deliver equipment into very challenging environments.”
Artificial intelligence enhances situational awareness
Patria is also strengthening its grip on artificial intelligence. In May, it was announced that the Patria-led Artificial Intelligence Warfare Adaptive Swarm Platform (AI-WASP) project received 45 million euros in EU funding to strengthen Europe’s defence capability. But what exactly is the project about? – Rautalinko explains that the goal is to develop a new generation, scalable, and cognitive (swarm-intelligence driven) transceiver system.
The reason is clear: forces operating in various environments need up-to-date situational awareness and agile communications systems.
“Utilizing swarm intelligence and building situational awareness have been in our focus for some time”, Rautalinko notes.
FAMOUS: The next generation armoured vehicle
In addition, Patria acts as the industrial coordinator in the European Future Highly Mobile Augmented Armoured Systems (FAMOUS) project, which aims to improve the performance of new and existing armoured vehicles with EU funding. The consortium includes 9 countries and 18 leading European defence companies – and a new generation armoured vehicle will soon be rolling out of the production line.
“The launch will be in September in London”, reveals Rautalinko.
According to the CEO, good results have been achieved in the FAMOUS project within a tight timeframe, which bodes well for the future. “Now we know that such pan-European efforts can be carried out with excellent results.”
Hämeenlinna production will double
Armoured vehicles are also a hot topic at Patria: The company is making a 40-million-euro investment to double the production of armoured vehicles at its Hämeenlinna facility. The new production facilities are expected to be in use during 2027.
“The demand for these vehicles is currently so high that production must be increased significantly.”
Patria has been involved as a sponsor at the Kouvola Security Conference since the beginning. According to Rautalinko, the focus in Kouvola is strictly on security matters, ensuring that the event does not branch out too much.
“The conference brings together many different parties to discuss themes without ever being generic”, Rautalinko summarizes.
“The Kouvola Security Conference is an excellent forum that has long since established its place.”