The Finnish Defence Forces will procure heavy M3 mortars from Patria Land Oy amounting to EUR 4.7 million.
The system was developed in cooperation between the Defence Forces and Patria. With the new systems, the Defence Forces will have more mobile firing units and greater firing dispersion than before, a Finnish MoD release said
The Finnish Army refers to this ongoing project for a new mortar as the 120 KRH M3 mortar system. Patria introduced its new weapon system at the Future Mortar Systems conference in London on October 29, 2024, under the name Patria TREMOS, a Patria release said.
The mortars will be used in combat support operations. In future, they will have a growing role as troops’ own unit of heavy indirect fire.
“The procurement will not only reinforce the Army’s capabilities, but it will also strengthen the domestic security of supply for defence materiel,” Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen says.
The procurement involves a pre-series of the new mortar system, set for delivery to the Finnish Army in 2025. The new mortar system integrates traditional heavy mortar weapons into a modular carriage, which is then mounted on a military truck. This system can utilize both existing and new traditional heavy mortars, along with the current fire management system, and it can be installed on various vehicles through its integration module.
"Patria has enhanced the mobility of heavy mortars in excellent collaboration with the Finnish Army and the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command, creating a new weapon system.
It has already undergone testing, and the pre-series agreement was promptly signed. Decades of experience in developing and manufacturing different weapon systems, such as the Patria AMOS and Patria NEMO mortar systems, have been applied in this development," states Jussi Järvinen, Patria’s Executive Vice President, Finland Division.