The story
Founded by Government of Finland in 1997, in Helsinki.1
Patria's history begins in 1921 with the establishment of the Finnish Air Force Aircraft Factory at Suomenlinna. The operations begin with licensed manufacturing of the German Hansa-Brandenburg aircraft, with the total production volume between 1922 and 1926 amounting to 120 aircraft. Patria's centenary issue describes the company's history.
During March 2016, it was announced that Norwegian defense group Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace AS had agreed terms to purchase a 49.9% stake in Patria; Walter Qvam, Kongsberg chief executive, stated that the company was keen to leverage new advantages from the deal, including Patria's 50 per cent ownership in Norwegian ammunition manufacturer Nammo. The transaction placed a total value of 283.5 million euros on Patria.
During 2001, Patria had secured contracts to build several elements of the NHIndustries NH90 helicopter, such as the rear fuselage, rear ramp, sponsons and sliding doors; the firm also signed Memorandum of understanding to perform final assembly of both the helicopter and its engines. In March 2008, deliveries of Finland's NH90 commenced; deliveries had been delayed from an initial 2004 date thus, to minimize further delay, helicopters were first delivered to an Initial Operational Configuration (IOC-) and Nearly Operational Configuration (IOC+), to be later modified by Patria into a Final Operational Configuration (FOC). In September 2011, the Finnish Defence Forces and Patria signed an agreement to provide ballistic protection for onboard personnel across the NH90 fleet. On 18 June 2015, delivery of the final Finnish NH90 took place.
Patria has produced components for numerous aircraft manufacturers; it has manufactured elements of the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner, as well as being a long-term supplier to the Airbus A320 family and the Embraer ERJ-145. Patria has also produced components for multiple programmes headed by the European Space Agency. During late 2004, the company was actively pursuing work on Airbus' A350 XWB and A400M Atlas, as well as Boeing's 787.
Patria also provides support and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) services for various aircraft. During 2009, it won a contract to modernise the Finnish Air Force's 49 BAE Systems Hawk 51/51As with CMC Electronics's Cockpit 4000 avionics suite; months later, Patria was awarded a second contract to upgrade the avionics of 18 Finnish Hawk 66s. Furthermore, it has made offers to supply and support Hawks for foreign operators, including a bid for the Polish Air Force in 2011. In March 2014, the company partnered with Swiss aerospace company RUAG to offer MRO services to McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet operators worldwide.
From Wikipedia’s article on Patria (company), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5