Member introduction: Patria

Get to know Patria, one of the founding DDE members! Patria is in a stage of strong growth. Pasi Niinikoski, Director of EU and NATO Affairs, Industry & Technology Foresight, says Patria's key expertise within the ecosystem revolves around achieving international growth with our members' own products.

"We have a significant range of export products which we already deliver worldwide. We excel in defining our offering and integrating new elements into it. With Patria’s strong integration expertise, we can assist in connecting solutions to existing legacy defence systems, for example, during mid-life upgrades."

What benefits does DDE bring?

"The Patria-led eALLIANCE Ecosystem programme, partly funded by Business Finland, is a concrete achievement. It builds on the experiences of the DDE network and will amplify collaboration between Finnish civilian and defence sector companies. In the ecosystem, cause-and-effect relationships are not always clear – the full benefits of DDE cannot yet be anticipated. New opportunities continuously emerge."

How do you see DDE’s role in Finnish society?

“I believe DDE plays a significant role as it develops generations of experts in critical areas of society. These methods can be utilised in future crises, regardless of the focus on export-driven growth. Crises are unpredictable and require rapidly developed, agile testing and solutions, just like we do in DDE. Export-driven growth, in turn, benefits Finnish society, while the acquired defence expertise directly strengthens national resilience.”

What are your thoughts on new defence?

“One of DDE’s key insights is that established defence and new defence coexist within the same ecosystem. I believe it’s a mistaken assumption that new defence will replace the 'old' – Patria is a good example of how established defence can quickly integrate new technologies into existing defence systems or for dual-use applications. When stability and dynamism are combined in the right way, it combines the best of both worlds.”

What are your company’s future goals?

“Our strategy is to remain focused on the defence sector. Our strong growth requires significant scaling. In relation to DDE, we have many new products in the pipeline and are deepening our integration expertise. We aim to leverage expertise beyond current Patria resources. DDE provides us with tools to take concrete action, such as creating joint demos or export projects. I hope members will boldly bring new initiatives to the table.”