Finland to focus on hybrid tech for military vehicles

Finland will participate in a research cooperation project Hybrid Drive Trains for military purpose (HybriDT), conducted by the European Defence Agency (EDA), which will focus on the suitability of hybrid technology for military vehicles.

Germany will serve as the project's lead nation, and Austria, Finland, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden are participating countries, said a government press release.

Hybrid technology is developed and used more and more extensively in the vehicle industry. In the future, military vehicles cannot be entirely different from civilian vehicles and therefore it is important to study opportunities for applying hybrid technology also for military purposes. The need to reduce emissions from traffic and even to ban certain types of engines support this goal.

The aim of the research is not to develop a new device but to study requirements set by military use on the technology in question. At the same time, the outcome will indicate the pros and cons of the use of a new type of technology.

The project's content will be produced by the participating countries' defence industry and research consortium where Patria Land Systems represents Finland. The majority of Finland's contribution to the project will take place as expert work from the domestic defence industry.