The Patria Pasi (earlier known as the Sisu Pasi) is a Finnish-made six-wheeled

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

(APC) originally designed for

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

. The first variant was produced in 1983, and serial production began in 1984. It was designed to operate with ease of use, simple structure and low-cost maintenance. The basic appearance and configuration of the Pasi is similar to most other wheeled APCs. The XA-180 and XA-185 are fully amphibious, while other variants are not.

Development

In 1980,

Sisu is a Finnish word variously translated as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness. It is held by Finns to express their national character. It is generally considered not to have a single-word ...

produced an XA-180 prototype for

Finnish Army The Finnish Army ( , ) is the army, land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft artillery, Combat engineering, engineer ...

tests. It competed against two other prototypes and was declared the winner of the trials in 1983. In December 1983, the Finnish Army ordered a first batch of fifty XA-180s. Nine were reserved for UN duties. The vehicle proved quite successful and more orders followed. The vehicle's widely known nickname "Pasi", also a common given name of Finnish men, stems from the Finnish designation "panssari-Sisu" (). The main superstructure is mainly manufactured from 6 to 12 mm of armoured steel. The bottom is mine-strengthened. The front windows are bullet-resistant and equipped with protective hatches. The vehicle has continuous six-wheel drive and good capabilities for off-road driving. It can take inclines up to a maximum of 60°. The Pasi has no standard armament, but is equipped with a rotating turret structure for eventual installations of light/heavy machine guns or

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

s. It has 8 BMP-style firing ports on the sides and rear. Therefore, passengers, usually a squad of infantry, can fire their weapons from the cover of the armor. The Pasi is popular in

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

missions due to its mobility, non-aggressive appearance, and good protection against mines and

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

s (IED). The vehicle offers a good combination of armament, comfort, mine protection, protection against shrapnel and small-calibre fire, road speed, short time of learning how to drive, and an acceptable terrain mobility. It offers more internal space compared to other similar APCs like the Fuchs or the

BTR-80 The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first de ...

. The early variants of the Pasi (such as the XA-180 and XA-185) were manufactured by

Sisu Auto Osakeyhtiö, Oy Sisu Auto Aktiebolag, Ab is a truck manufacturer based in Raseborg, Finland. Its name comes from the Finnish language, Finnish word ''sisu'' meaning guts, grit and determination. Sisu Auto has a subsidiary company, Sisu Defence ...

until 1997, when its defense subsidiary ''Sisu Defence Oy'' was acquired by Patria. The later variants (such as the XA-202 and XA-203) were then manufactured by Patria until 2003, when the then new

Patria AMV The Patria AMV (Armoured Modular Vehicle) is an Eight-wheel drive, 8×8 multi-role list of military vehicles, military vehicle produced by the Finland, Finnish defence industry company Patria (company), Patria. The main feature of the AMV is its ...

entered serial production. By then, over 1,300 Pasis had been produced.

Operational service

The Pasi has seen service in several conflict areas, including

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. The Pasi has been used by the Finnish police in sieges and SWAT operations. In 2018, Estonia deployed five XA-188s to Mali as part of Estonia's contribution to

Operation Barkhane Operation Barkhane (French language, French: ''Opération Barkhane'') was a counterinsurgency operation that started on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups in Africa's S ...

. In 2022, Finland reportedly donated an unknown number of XA-180/185s to Ukraine as part of a military and humanitarian aid package following the escalations of the ongoing

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. At least ten have been lost in combat.

Versions

;Sisu XA-180: Original six-wheeler, carries crew of 2 and 16 troops. Empty weight ca. 12 tonnes. ;Sisu XA-185: Upgraded version, carries crew of 2 and 18 troops. Has a more powerful engine and improved power transmission. Used as an ambulance in the

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army () is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The ...

. ;Patria XA-186:Upgraded armour. Armoured and equipped with machine-assisted gun turret ( .50 BMG). Cannot swim because of the heavy armour. Empty weight ca 19 tonnes. Engine and transmission same as XA-185. ;Patria XA-188:Used by the

Royal Netherlands Army The Royal Netherlands Army (, KL) is the Ground warfare, land branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. Though the Royal Netherlands Army was raised on 9 January 1814, its origins date back to 1572, when the was raised making the Dutch standing a ...

. ;Patria XA-202/203: The 200 series looks a little different from earlier variants due to increased armour. It lacks amphibious capabilities but can wade through water that is up to 1.5 m deep. The improved armour protects the passengers against up to 14.5 mm small-arms fire. It is equipped with modern optical aids like periscopes and night vision. The armor upgrade was initiated after the realisation that the previous armor was inadequate, even modern armor-piercing 7.62 mm ammunition could pierce the older XA-180 and XA-185 models in certain areas. The XA-202 was originally developed for Communications and Command. The XA-203 variant was made as a temporary replacement for the earliest XA-185s, and is intended to be replaced by

s in Finnish service. In addition to standard variants, there are numerous sub-versions for specific missions, e.g. ambulance, command & communications, electronic warfare, air defence, radar surveillance, firefighting and anti-tank variants among others.

Operators

Dutch 6x6 armored vehicle in Afghanistan

There are five original customers of the Pasi: Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, while a large number have been leased to other military forces of the world.

Current operators

*: Estonian Army ** XA-180EST, modernized variant of the XA-180 ** In 2010, Estonia purchased an additional 81 units of XA-188 from the Netherlands. *:

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( , ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for "Finnish Navy ship", but ...

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

, Finnish Police. 425 XA-180s and 185s, 148 XA-200s **XA-180, most upgraded to 185 specs, and configured with special communications equipment **XA-181 built for Crotale NG independent air defence unit **XA-182, equipped with Jantronic J-1000/ Giraffe Mk IV radar **XA-185, the most common version, most of the Finnish vehicles are armed with a 12.7 mm NSV machine gun. One prototype equipped with the

BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...

anti-tank missile system. **XA-202 command and signals vehicle, configured with special communications equipment Also the following versions exist: * **VIPA (ViestiPasi, communication vehicle using the YVI-2, Yhtymän Viestijärjestelmä, "brigade and corps level communication system") ****ELSO (ELektroninen SOdankäynti, ELINT, electronic warfare) sub-version of VIPA. ***EPA (EsikuntaPAsi, brigade command post vehicle) ***KOPA (KOmentoPAsi, battalion command post vehicle) ***SUTI (SUojeluTIedustelu), NBC reconnaissance vehicle ***TUPA (TUlenjohtoPAsi, fire observer and artillery command post vehicle) **XA-203, the last generation APC replacing the oldest vehicles of the XA-185 series, except for regular APCs and ambulances, ***Ambulance **Units used by the Finnish police are on loan from the Finnish military to police special unit and used in extreme situations. *: In UN service. *:

Latvian Land Forces The Latvian Land Forces () together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. From 2007 to 2024, the Land Forces were organized as a fully professional standing army until the re-introducti ...

. Over 200 vehicles on order, to be delivered 2021–2029. The first 4 vehicles received on 29 October 2021. The vehicles are partially produced in Latvia since 2021. In November 2024, 56 additional command vehicles were ordered. In February 2025, 42 were to be donated to Ukraine. *:

. 75 vehicles. **XA-185, in service with several units primarily in the ambulance configuration. **XA-186, in service with the HMKG and Basesett 1 located at Ørland Main Air Station. In 1994–1996, 22 wagons of the XA-186 model were manufactured in Norway. Of these, 18 were crew cars, two control cars, one ambulance and one repair vehicle. Norway is the only operator of the XA-186 worldwide. **XA-203N, formerly in service with the 2nd Battalion. 30 vehicles converted to MRSP (ambulance configuration) after 2017. *:

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

. 1 captured from Ukrainian Army *:

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

. ~200 vehicles in total. **''Pansarterrängbil'' XA-180/XA-185, XA-180(/185) armed with 12,7x99mm HMG. 70 vehicles delivered from 1988, mainly in UN service. **''Pansarterrängbil 202'', XA-202S as command and control vehicles, Swedish special variant **''Pansarterrängbil 203A'', XA-203 equipped with the turret from

Pansarbandvagn 302 Pansarbandvagn 302 (pbv 302), meaning roughly ''armoured tracked carrier vehicle 302'', is a Swedish high-mobility infantry fighting vehicle () used by the Swedish Army from 1966 to 2014. The vehicle was commissioned by the Swedish Army in 1961 a ...

APC's, armed with a 20 mm gun, in 7 configurations like ambulance (unarmed), AT-missile, CBRN-detection, field repairs and so forth. **''Pansarterrängbil 203B'', the turret is replaced with the weapon-station Protector ''Nordic''. *:

Ukrainian Army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

. Unknown number of vehicles donated during the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. As of February 2024 it has been visually confirmed that 5 units have been destroyed, 2 abandoned and 1 captured by Russian forces. *: A large number of Sisu XA-180 vehicles are used by

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

forces in southern

Former operators

*: Austrian Army, in UNDOF service. *: The Danish Army leased eleven XA-185s, including ambulance versions, for use with UN troops, 4 were used in Bosnia, 4 in Kosovo, 3 for training purpose in Denmark. *: The

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

had two XA-180s, formerly as training vehicles for soldiers preparing for service in South Lebanon. Retired in 2012. *: The Dutch Army and

Netherlands Marine Corps The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps () is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy, one of the four Netherlands Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The marines trace their origins to the establishme ...

purchased 90 XA-188s, 81 of which were later sold to Estonia. **XA-188 GVV (early 200-series variant) Used by army and marines, equipped with GPS and satcom, armament MG or .50cal **XA-188 GWT Ambulance

Gallery

File:Pasi_Ps_675-327_Merivoimien_vuosipäivä_2014_02.JPG, A Finnish Army XA-180 File:Pasi_XA-180M_Kokonaisturvallisuus_2015_03_interior.JPG, The interior of a Finnish Army XA-180M File:Erikoissammutusyksikkö_SM_15_1.JPG, A firefighting variant used by the Finnish Defence Forces File:Lippujuhlanpäivän_paraati_2012_12.JPG, A Finnish Army XA-185 equipped with a 12.7 mm

NSV machine gun The NSV ''Utyos'' ( cyrl, НСВ, initialism for ; ), is a Soviet heavy machine gun chambered in 12.7×108mm. It is named after the designers, G. I. Nikitin, Y. М. Sokolov and V. I. Volkov. It was designed to replace the DShK machine gun and w ...

File:Sisu_Patria_XA-188_GVV_photo-001.JPG, A Royal Netherlands Army XA-188 ambulance transport vehicle

References

External links

Danish army XA-185
{{Authority control Sisu vehicles Wheeled armoured personnel carriers Post–Cold War military vehicles of Finland Vehicles introduced in 1983 Six-wheeled vehicles Wheeled amphibious armoured fighting vehicles Military vehicles introduced in the 1980s Amphibious armoured personnel carriers Armoured personnel carriers of Finland

Pasi Pasi may refer to: * Pasi (caste), a Hindu caste of northern India * Pasi (film), ''Pasi'' (film), a 1979 Tamil film * Pasi (given name) * Pasi (surname), a surname of the Pasi community * Pasi, Papua New Guinea, a settlement near the coast of San ...