ARVE artillery system completes successful test firings

Patria’s ARVE (ARtillery on VEhicle) self-propelled howitzer has successfully completed its test firings, the company announced on the 26th June. This milestone follows the system’s official introduction in March 2025 at Patria’s Arctic Event in Lapland, which highlighted a range of the company’s new capabilities.

The ARVE system integrates Patria’s 155K98 field artillery system, widely utilised by the Finnish Defence Forces, onto the chassis of a Sisu all-terrain truck. This all-domestic solution is designed to increase the utility of the towed 155K98 system by mounting it on a truck chassis, offering high mobility, a high rate of fire, and the capability to engage naval targets at a lower cost than off the shelf procurement. 

During the June 2025 test firings, the ARVE performed as expected, successfully firing dozens of rounds at various elevations and side angles, including direct fire, according to Patria. This was achieved “despite the weapon firing even the most powerful overpressure charge,” the press release states, which presumably means it was fired on the maximum charge permissible for the gun. The tests were conducted with support from the Explosives Department of the Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Department. 

“The system is designed for harsh field conditions and our expectations regarding its usability, performance and reliability are very high. The completely successful test and acceptance firings are a testament to both Patria’s domestic weapon system expertise and ARVE’s technical readiness,” Mikko Leino, Executive Vice President of Patria’s Defence and Weapon Systems Business Area, emphasised. 

This approach to modernising existing weapon systems through integration onto mobile platforms is also seen with Patria’s TREMOS mortar system, which brings enhanced mobility and accuracy to traditional mortars by mounting them onto various vehicle types. Patria anticipates that the production of these cost-effective and advanced mobile artillery solutions will also generate significant employment effects within Finland whilst helping to better-equip the country’s large reserve forces. 

It could be argued that ARVE is following in the successful footsteps of several systems before it like the 2S22 Bohdana from Ukraine, which uses the legacy breech and carriage of a Soviet howitzer with a new-build 155 mm NATO standard barrel, all mounted on the chassis of a truck. The Archer artillery system was also based on the towed FH-77 howitzer, which is a similar system to the 155K98. 

Tech Profile: ARVE

The ARVE employs an existing howitzer system and truck as a way to rapidly generate more mobile capabilities. Credit: Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Department

The Patria ARVE is a wheeled self-propelled howitzer based on the 155K98 (also known as the 155 GH 52 APU) 155 mm L/52 howitzer. The gun is integrated onto a Sisu E13TP 8×8 all-terrain truck providing a combat mass under 28 tonnes and 11.5 metres in length. It is capable of delivering three rounds in the first 15 seconds, a maximum of eight rounds per minute, and a sustained rate of two rounds per minute, which is quite typical of 155 mm systems.

The Sisu E13TP has a 500 hp engine allowing a top speed of 100 km/h and an operational range of 600 km. It features an armored cabin providing STANAG 4569 Level 2 ballistic and Level 2a mine protection, and can ford water obstacles up to 1 meter deep. The truck provides space for 24 complete rounds of ammunition in storage bins along the length of the chassis. Crucially, the system can be made ready to fire within 90 seconds of stopping and can displace from its firing position within 45 seconds after firing, significantly enhancing its shoot-and-scoot capabilities to avoid counter-battery fire. While the current ARVE prototype features manual gun laying and loading, Patria is considering future enhancements, including automatic laying and loading systems.

Calibre comment

There has been a lot of focus on drones and FPVs as a result of the war in Ukraine, leading some defence companies to state that they are the future of defence and can replace conventional capabilities. This tends to unnecessarily diminish the power of artillery and other systems. Artillery is an all-weather system designed to provide fire support no matter what, at any time of day, which many drones cannot do. It can also deliver devastating firepower onto a target in a matter of minutes, suppressing or destroying a formation in a way and timeframe that drones would struggle to replicate. That is not to say there is no role for drones and loitering munitions, but that it is important to consider the totality of the battlefield and not focus on a single capability. Finland appears to recognise this and is seeking greater mobility and mass of indirect fire through TREMOS and ARVE. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 27th June, 2025. Credit for the lead image is Patria, it shows the ARVE during its firing trials.