Patria modernises Finnish Air Force s Hawk jet trainers

Transcription

1 Corporate Magazine 2/2009 Patria modernises Finnish Air Force s Hawk jet trainers Patria trains conscripts into pilots Mr Jussi Itävuori, the Head of Human Resources at EADS: In the long run, the aviation industry is still a growth industry EN

2 Satu palm Editorial Watch the skies! Patria Focus welcomes you to the world of aviation. We have scheduled this issue to coincide with the Paris Air Show, the great aviation event that is to take place in June. For us, the highlight of the fair will be handing over a Hawk training jet, modernised by Patria, to the Finnish Air Force. Patria s experience with Hawks and their modification projects goes back a long way. With the modernisation work now underway, training can switch from Hornets to the more cost-efficient Hawks. This will enable the Finnish Air Force to achieve operational cost savings. The recession in the world economy is casting a shadow over the outlook of the defence and aviation industry. In this issue, Mr. Jussi Itävuori, a member of the EADS Executive Committee and Head of Human Resources, tells us more about the challenges faced by the aviation industry, and about future cooperation between EADS and Patria. Patria is developing its operations amongst ever-intensifying competition. A key feature in the development of our operations is the broadening of our service concept with e.g. our strategic partner, the Finnish Air Force. In this issue, we will familiarise ourselves with the elementary and basic flight training arranged by Patria at Tikkakoski: this training provides a solid basis for the Hawk training available at the international flight training centre in Kauhava. What s more, we will take a look at the success of the deployment of NH90 helicopters by the Finnish Army. In our News segment, we ll briefly introduce the new organisation and key personnel of Land & Armament, effective as of 1 April Data Link knowhow, which is utilised in Unmanned Airborne Vehicles, represents the very pinnacle of our Systems Business Unit s expertise. Read more on this on page 11. Wishing all our readers a great summer! Current affairs Satu Palm Editor in Chief Patria Focus Patria Corporate Magazine 1/2009 ISSN Publisher: Patria Oyj, Kaivokatu 10 A, Helsinki, Tel , Editor-in-chief: Satu Palm Board of editors: Tuure Hakavuori, Veli-Matti Kohtamäki, Pentti Miettinen, Simo Mäkipaja, Satu Palm, Antti Huuskonen, Raili Saarinen Editing and layout: Legendium Oy Translations: Done Information Oy, Bożena Kojro, Praksis d.o.o., Mare Bulic Cover: Kimmo Hantula Press: Libris Oy Patria Focus is published three times a year. The next edition will be published in November Please send any feedback to > News & Info > Patria Focus The strategic partnership Patria shares with the Finnish Defence Forces is a relationship that various EADS units could learn a lot from. Jussi Itävuori, the Head of Human Resources at EADS 2 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

3 2 Editorial 2 Facts & Figures 4 Q&A Interview with Jukka Holkeri 5 Forum Patria modernises Finnish Air Force s Hawk training aircraft 6 Turbulence and fresh breezes 8 Patria trains conscripts into Vinka pilots 11 Patria at the top of Data Link know-how 12 Flying well NH90 14 In Focus 15 In Sight Heikki Allonen Funds for defence materials and crisis management Esko Kralik In its first supplementary budget for 2009, the Parliament of Finland approved a EUR 10 million increase in non-recurring defence materials expenditure. This sum will be used for the acquisition of ammunition and other defence materials from the domestic defence industry. These acquisitions, sourced from domestic suppliers in the industry, will provide employment totalling an estimated 130 man years. Military crisis management will receive over EUR 1 million in extra funding from the supplementary budget. This increase in the appropriation will mainly be used to cover the extra costs of current operations, and to ensure their continuation. Currently, Finland is participating in military crisis management operations, among others the KFOR operation in Kosovo, the ISAF operation in Afghanistan, as well as the EU operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chad, and the Republic of Central Africa. The total budget for military crisis management is slightly under EUR 56 million. Source: (official website of the Finnish Parliament) Patria part of the Finnish Defence Forces air defence missile system and air surveillance system projects The Finnish Ministry of Defence has announced the supplier of medium range air defence missile system to be the Norwegian-American Kongsberg-Raytheon. Medium range radars will be supplied and long range radars modernised by the French Thales- Raytheon Systems Company. These projects will be realised together with Finnish industrial partners. In the air defence missile project Patria is negotiating among other things of building the launchers and partici pating in the system integration. Through the industrial participation in the project s realisation phase readiness for the domestic maintenance of the systems will be created. In the radar projects Patria, together with its subcontractors, will realise the domestic participation through among other things significant part of the software design and equipment shelter rearmament and modifications. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009 3

4 Q&A Jukka Holkeri Mr Jukka Holkeri, Executive Vice President in charge of Aviation in Patria, emphasises that the most important aspect of a partnership is cooperation to the mutual benefit of all parties. Please tell us briefly about your work history In 1988, after I had graduated as a Master of Science in engineering, I made a list of the aircraft factories in Finland, and chose the largest. I have not looked back since. So by now I have already been employed by Patria and its predecessors for 21 years. For the first 13 years, I worked at Halli, Jämsä (previously Kuorevesi) on various tasks and for a brief period I also worked in Tampere. Since 2001, I have worked for Patria Group management in my hometown, Helsinki. What are the biggest challenges in your current position? Merging the opinions and expectations of people who come from different cultures and backgrounds, so that we all share a commonly agreed goal that is advantageous to all. In most cases problems are solved when people learn to understand each other better. But developing this understanding will always take time and require a lot of cooperation. Working together with my fantastic team, though, is a joy. From your point of view, what kinds of partners are the Finnish Defence Force and Finnish Air Force? At best, they are our strategic partners with whom we develop our long-term operations so that the interests of both parties are served. On occasion though, external restrictions such as lack of funding, for example, can cause sudden changes. But we get through these too through shared planning. What would you like to learn from your work? It would be great to be able to restrict myself a bit more, and not to get involved with all and everything that seems interesting. This is important to me because there is always time to start things, but the number of issues you can bring over the finish line is limited. How do you relax as a counterbalance to working life? I exercise and cook a lot. I also try to keep up with the world and its current trends. My three kids are often very active judges of how I succeed in the latter. Patria is renewing all of the Hawks avionics systems. The existing systems and structures will be combined with modern, computer-based avionics systems and equipment. Moreover, Patria is in charge of the specification, planning and execution of this extensive systems integration project. The avionics system will be supplied by CMC Electronics. Patria has built up the technical capacity required to take care of future maintenance as well as improvements to the software, according to the wishes of the Finnish Air Force. This way we can ensure that the avionics systems are up-to-date across the entire lifespan of the aircraft, says Leo Vanhatalo, Vice President, Avionics from Patria. Patria s lengthy experience of Hawk maintenance and number of smaller modification projects forms an excellent background for this upgrade project and also future maintenance. The Finnish Air Force ordered its first Hawks back in Since then, Patria has been in charge of their maintenance. Focus on up-to-date systems After the modifications, the Hawks cockpits will match the glass cockpits of modern fighter aircraft. Main functionalities of the mission systems will be controlled by a new Mission Computer. The Head Up Display allows the pilot to view major part of the information on the aircraft s operating sta- 4 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

5 Patria modernises Finnish Air Force s Hawk jet trainers Forum The Finnish Air Force and Patria have agreed on avionics upgrades for Hawk training jets. Following the modernisation of their technology and software, these aircraft will meet the demands of modern flight training for a long time to come. Text Virpi Hopeasaari Photo Perttu Karivalo tus and mission, while looking out of the cockpit window. The Up Front Control Panel of the avionics equipment is used to control for instance navigation and radio equipment. A multi-purpose display, available in both cockpits, contains e.g. a colour map display, a flight navigation display, and a tactical display. If problems should occur in the functions of the main systems, the pilot can use the Back-up Flight Instruments, which have their own displays. Paper maps are no longer necessary to fulfil a mission, since the new avionics system displays aircraft altitude, velocity and position data on the multi-purpose display and even over the map. With the Mission Computer, you can simulate the weapons systems functions and use in training. Together with its subcontractors and partners, Patria delivers the training systems required for the modernisation project, like Flight Simulators, and mission planning etc. With these applications, the performance of aircraft taking part in a mission can be planned and studied afterwards with an ordinary PC. In this way, we obtain concrete feedback on the success of an exercise. Hawks soon back in the air The modernisation project s prototype aircraft was ready for test flights last autumn, and its first flight took place in September 2008 in Jämsä. The type certification process for the prototype is currently underway. Good test flight results have led to the serial production of the first 11 Hawks. Type approval, to be finalised in May, will ensure that the modernised Hawks can be taken into operational use as military aircraft. The modernised aircraft will be delivered to the Finnish Air Force during this and next year. In June, the first production aircraft will be on display at the Paris International Air Show. We are seeking publicity for the aircraft, and believe that the midlife upgrade project of Hawk will also interest other, foreign customers. Upgrade of aircraft is also a prerequisite for the international high level Hawk training offered jointly by the Finnish Air Force and Patria in Kauhava Nordic Pilot Training Centre, says Vanhatalo. In the years , Patria, according to the Finnish Air Force s plans, will modernise 18 as-good-as-new Hawks of type MK-66, which the Finnish Air Force has acquired from Switzerland. Their systems and equipment configuration differs somewhat from Mk- 51/51A training aircraft, which are modernised first. Swiss Hawks have been out of service for some time. The project s scope includes also the overhaul of these aircraft ready to flight, alongside the pre-study and planning of the upgrade project. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009 5

6 Turbulence and fresh breezes Even though the recession is affecting aviation as well, Mr Jussi Itävuori, the head of human resources at EADS, believes there will be an upturn after enough time has flown by. He also believes that the strategic cooperation between Patria and the Finnish Defence Forces is at a level that many others could learn from. Text Jaakko Liikanen Photos Patria and Shutterstock The general economic crisis affected the aviation industry through its customers first. Traveller numbers are down by about 8% globally, and air cargo is down by about 20%. This is affecting the airlines willingness to invest in new equipment at the moment, says Jussi Itävuori. On the other hand, the recession is accelerating aircraft renewal, since the oldest aircraft, which generally consume more fuel, are the first to be discarded. The availability of financing is one central problem that the airlines and helicopter operators have to face as a result of the banking crisis. Here governments should assist the financial markets and thus also aid our customers. In the long run, the aviation industry is still a growth industry, Itävuori says. A strict regimen is in force for Airbus Airbus, which is an affiliate of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, faces tough times too. What can tide us over, though, is our large stock of orders. At the beginning of the year, Airbus had over 3,700 aircraft in its order book. Deliveries in 2009 are expected to remain at 2008 s record breaking level, which was 483 new aircraft per year. A couple of years ago, EADS had already launched a comprehensive change programme. This has prepared Airbus, as well as other divisions of EADS, for tougher competition. The actions at Airbus include personnel reductions of approximately 10,000 employees over a three-year period. Airbus has also con- 6 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

7 tracted out more work while reducing the number of its subcontractors. In the future, the subcontractors will be larger, be more economically viable, and have global operations. Protectionism threatens EU integration The recession has not been good news for European integration. All in all, integration has not progressed that much in the last decade. And now nations are increasingly keeping an eye on their own short-term gains, claiming employment, for example, as their motivation. This can easily lead to protectionism in their political decisions. In the short term you can understand this type of behaviour, but in the long run it is certain not to work, says Itävuori. Itävuori says that the challenge faced by the European defence industry is in building common European programmes that create shared, independent capabilities, and European expertise and technology. Of the global defence equipment market, the USA alone represents approximately 40%, with all of Europe combined representing 15%. In this light, it is clear that the Americans enjoy a considerable advantage in their home market, and in the R&D financing aimed at the industry. Europe has to choose Europe s 15% is also divided among many national budgets, which cannot be used to develop shared technology as efficiently as could be done with increased European cooperation. In the long run, it is a question of political choice, this question being whether Europe wants to maintain its own self sufficient defence and aerospace industry and technology, and thereby guarantee its independence. Even the greatest countries in Europe are too small to fund large new development projects on their own, such as building the next generation of unmanned military aircraft. Itävuori believes that the European Defence Agency (EDA), which was founded in 2004 with the task of coordinating European defence integration, is a great stakeholder in the field. He says: Finland, too, has been commendably active in the development of the EDA. The EDA is taking things in the right direction, but if From the Alps to the archipelago European countries lack true will to cooperate, and if significant joint projects do not exist, development will still be slow. This is why the EDA s activities, resources, and power to act should be expanded. Patria is the forerunner EADS owns 26.8% of Patria, and Itävuori is a member of the Patria Board of Directors. With this background, he knows the company extremely well. Thus, he believes that the strategic partnership Patria shares with the Finnish Defence Forces is a relationship that various EADS units could learn a lot from. This cooperation goes back a long way. The strategic partnership will only intensify when the time comes to outsource the service activities of the various branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. This has already happened in the case of Millog and the army. Itävuori emphasises that delivery of comprehensive solutions is a clear trend in the industry. Defence forces around the world are outsourcing more and more of their service and maintenance functions: the share of such service businesses in the net sales of defence equipment companies will continue to rise accordingly. The goal for EADS is to have a quarter of our total net sales accrued from services in In this respect, other countries and also different EADS units have a lot to learn from the cooperation of Patria and the Finnish Defence Forces, says Itävuori. Patria has a significant role also in the NH90 transport helicopter project. In his time off, Jussi Itävuori likes to relax with downhill and cross-country skiing. In winter, we vacation in Finland and in the Alps; in the summer, we are at our summer cottage in the Vaasa archipelago. Summer is also the time for fishing and motorcycling, he says. Tennis is a good way to keep in shape, and golf is an activity that is sometimes shared by the whole family. James, a three year-old Jack Russell Terrier, also sees to it that the family get enough outdoor exercise. Itävuori lives with his wife, Raili, and their teenage sons, Ossi and Sami, in an old detached house just outside Paris. Itävuori says: Patria s extensive experience from the NH90 assembly line and the transfer of know-how related to Eurocopter maintenance ensure that Patria is a strong candidate for implementation of a Nordic service centre. A personal favourite for Itävuori is the Nordic Pilot Training Center at Kauhava, jointly created by Patria and the Finnish Air Force. As a former Finnish Air Force pilot trained at Kauhava, I find this project especially close to my heart. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009 7

8 Patria trains conscripts into Vinka pilots The elementary and basic flight training provided by Patria has become an integral part of the Finnish Air Force s flight training system. Flexible training meets the Finnish Air Force s needs. Text Virpi Hopeasaari Photos Petri Keinänen The Finnish Air Force trains approximately 1,500 conscripts every year. During their 12-month military service, the around 40 conscripts who pass the selection process take part in the elementary flight training provided by Patria at Tikkakoski. Patria-designed Vinka elementary training aircraft are used for the training of nearly 50 hours of VN1 syllabus. The best of the conscripts who complete VN1 elementary training around 25 conscripts annually make it to cadet school, where they receive flight officer training from either the Finnish Air Force, the Army, or the Border Guard. After theoretical training in Santahamina, they return to Tikkakoski for approximately 50 flight hours of VN2 training using Vinka aircraft. Good basis for further training Basic training includes aircraft handling, aerobatics, spins, formation flying, low altitude navigation, and forced landing training, for example. Training on Vinka aircraft provides an ideal background in basic flying skills, and enables the pilot to move safely onto the next phase of more powerful training jets. After basic training advanced jet training lasting roughly 90 hours is arranged at Kauhava, using the Hawk training jets (HW1 syllabus). This is followed by a tactical Hawk training period of approximately 120 hours (HW2 syllabus), which takes place prior to Hornet training in front line fighter squadrons. The majority of Vinka flight training is conducted by Patria s flight instructors. Patria also takes care of most HW1 theoretical training at Kauhava, and of almost all simulator training offered to the student pilots of the Finnish Air Force. Patria also trains civilian pilots at the Helsinki-Malmi airport. Training offered by Patria plays a significant role in the flight training system of the Finnish Air Force, says Jari Karjanlahti, Executive Vice President, Training from Patria, in charge of the Tikkakoski and Kauhava units. Customer needs are the focal point In 2005, the Finnish Air Force outsourced the Vinka training and aircraft technical support provided at Tikkakoski to Patria. The operations carried out there is still military aviation for which Patria is responsible, and which it executes as part of the Finnish Air Force training arrange- 8 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

9 ments, under the command of the Air Force Academy s Supporting Air Operations Squadron. Working in a hybrid organisation demands extensive knowledge of the customer s goals and requirements. All current Patria instructors are former Finnish Air Force pilots, which means they know the customer s training practices extremely well, says Karjanlahti. Flexibility is a must in the strategic cooperation between Patria and the Finnish Air Force. The Finnish Air Force insists that training activities are continuously developed, keeping pace with current activities in the field. Based on its expertise, Patria is able to make long-term development proposals and update the training whenever needed. Karjanlahti explains that training plans, covering activities for each day, have been drawn up for a full year ahead. Annual plans are reviewed regularly, together with the Finnish Air Force, and updated frequently. For example, training resource needs are continuously monitored together with the directors of each course.» In 2005, the Finnish Air Force outsourced the Vinka training and aircraft technical support provided at Tikkakoski to Patria. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009 9

10 » Cooperation also aims at costefficiency. Although we work inside the Finnish Air Force s training system, discussions are open and we can refine our goals based on commonly shared information. This allows us to react with speed and efficiency. Maintenance supports training Training success and efficiency is ensured by the fact that Patria is also in charge of the technical support and maintenance of the Vinkas used in training. The aircraft have been 100% available for training at all times, as planned. For the training to be successful, reliable aircraft is an absolute must. Cooperation can truly blossom when both the aircraft maintenance and training activities operate from the same premises, Karjanlahti asserts. Patria is also in charge of the maintenance of the Finnish Air Force s Redigo liaison aircraft. Additional Vinka aircraft which normally are used as liaison aircraft are available when the training unit have exercises in other Air Force bases. Thanks to this arrangement, we can have 12 to 15 aircraft available instead of the 10 Vinkas that Tikkakoski normally has. This way, we can greatly increase the number of flight hours when our training targets so require. Nordic Pilot Training Centre is ready for action The Nordic Pilot Training Centre NPTC, an international flight training centre located in Kauhava and jointly developed by the Finnish Air Force and Patria, is ready to receive its first foreign customers for Hawk training. As agreed in terms of areas of responsibility, Patria has been very active in marketing the new training centre, and extensive interest has been shown in the training offered by NPTC. The Finnish Air Force is finalising the training materials and instruction manuals in English. We offer comprehensive, computer-based training materials. Patria has created a mission planning system for Hawk training: this system allows pilots to prepare and edit the data required in flight on their computers, and to transfer this data to the aircraft using a storage device, explains Business Development Manager, Mr Jyrki Myyryläinen from Patria. To meet the training requirements of the Finnish Air Force and any other customers that come to Kauhava, Patria is modernising the Finnish Air Force s Hawks with a modern glass cockpit system. International flight training is a very natural way of utilising the flight training and Hawk expertise of Patria and the Finnish Air Force. NPTC training at Kauhava offers the most modern European training technology and fighter pilot training available today. The advantages of NPTC compared to other international training units lies in the flexibility of the training and the availability of airspace. Unlike other training centres, NPTC is not limited to one training programme: taking account of the educational background of students and their desired training objectives, flight training programmes can be tailored to meet the customers training needs in an ideal manner. 10 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

11 Patria at the top of Data Link know-how Amongst tough international competition, communications know-how in operating unmanned aircraft is our spearhead. Text Jaakko Liikanen Data Link systems enable wireless data transfer in a network-centric environment used by different systems and users, e.g. by unmanned aircraft and ground stations. Together with its partners, Patria has strong skills in this field. Its participation in the German R&D project Agile UAV in Network Centric Environment is the most recent success story. The project focuses on unmanned aircraft as part of a network-centric environment. Cooperation is performed within the framework of the national UAV Data Link technology programme. In Germany, the project s main supplier is EADS. For Patria, this represents a concrete continuation to a previous head start in international Data Link markets. R&D in the EDA framework Already in late 2005, the European Defence Agency (EDA) commissioned research on unmanned aircraft and Data Link technology from a Patria-led consortium. Multi-Purpose Networking Data Link (MPNDL) technology, currently under development, offers a solution to performance deficiencies which have been identified, for example, by EDA s research. Data transfer robustness and relaying capability are central features of this technology. Thanks to modular and scalable implementation, the system can easily be adapted to various operational needs. The first development phase, back in 2007, included conceptual research and simulations. Building on this research, the initial laboratory tests using real equipment were conducted in Now, an airworthy version is being developed. The first flight tests will be conducted this year, and operative readiness should be achieved by the year Mr. Simo Mäkipaja, Vice President, Customer and Contract Acquisition of Systems Business Unit points out that where we are today is a direct result of the developments that began with the national FinUVS programme back in First, we realised that Finnish Data Link know-how corresponds to international needs in the UAV area. We had our first international reference, when we won, and successfully delivered research results for, an EDA bidding competition. Our framework for implementing a concrete system, in line with the specifications of the EDA report, lay in our cooperation with the German Agile project, Mäkipaja recalls. UAV expertise is a growth business The project in Germany provides international credibility in an environment where Unlike in Patria s earlier data link projects, the RF parts required by the Advanced Radio concept were also developed for the MPNDL system, since the markets could not provide a solution that was small and efficient enough. a system implemented using Finnish skills can be verified and demonstrated in a real life setting. Through our Agile collaboration, this system belongs to a much larger entity, and the added value it creates is easy to verify. This joint project forms a concrete example of the international competitive abilities of Finnish expertise. The market for unmanned aircraft is growing. Demand for Data Link equipment, like the network-centric MPNDL, will grow since data transfer is one of the key elements in the field. Our collaborative projects have helped us gain a solid foothold that will help us reach far into the future, reports Mäkipaja. Although Finnish projects are currently limited to Data Link, our international cooperation is helping us develop other UAV-related skills too. This, for one, will allow us to create national UAV system maintenance and development capabilities in the future. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/

12 NH90 helicopter has also been tested in harsh winter conditions in Rovaniemi Northern Finland. Flying well The Finnish Defence Forces put their NH90 helicopters to the test immediately. Flying hours are being accrued at top speed as the Utti Jaeger Regiment s Helicopter Battalion trains its staff. Users have high praise for the new equipment. Text Vesa Ville Mattila photos Esko Kralik T he Finnish Army already has five NH90 helicopters in use, out of the 20 ordered. The remaining 15 will be ready during the years In addition to the new helicopters, the Finnish Army has built a system comprising personnel, training, maintenance and leadership sections. Now is the time for the entire system to show what it is made of. Use only after strict inspections Before deployment, each of the helicopters is inspected thoroughly by the acceptance team of the Finnish Defence Forces; they travel to Patria s Jämsä premises specially for this purpose. During the acceptance tests, which last at least four weeks, the team takes test flights and inspects all of the helicopter s systems. After transferring the helicopter to the Utti Jaeger Regiment, its documentation is updated. Now, the helicopter is ready for active duty. We use all the flight hours that our technical staff can provide. In less than a year, the NH90 helicopters have been airborne for over 600 hours in total. I think this is an excellent achievement, since the helicopters arrived one at a time, and at any given time some are being serviced, or being used for technical training, says Lieutenant Colonel Anssi Vuolle of the Utti Jaeger Regiment s Helicopter Battalion. Training is the key Although the NH90 helicopters were purchased primarily for defence purposes, they can also be used to provide support for other public authorities. In the future, executive assistance for other authorities can be provided, for example in search and rescue missions. The Finnish Defence Forces may also consider sending out a helicopter section on an international mission. To be able to perform at the level assigned to us, we are currently working on the technical training of our pilots and staff. The goal is to train enough troops for around-the-clock activity, says Vuolle. We started out NH90 training with more experienced pilots, but next year we 12 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

13 will already expand this to younger officers. The path from the Finnish Air Force reserve officer course to piloting an NH90 helicopter lasts five years just as long as it takes to become a Hornet pilot. Strengths: steering, engines and automation Vuolle, with over 200 flying hours in the NH90 helicopter under his belt, seems happy with the equipment. The extreme challenges posed by the Finnish winter were met more comfortably than expected. The NH90 can operate everywhere in Finland at any time of the day, and even in demanding weather conditions. It can fly in almost any circumstances on only one engine. The high level of automation is also praised by the commander of the Helicopter Battalion. A good autopilot does not make a great pilot, but it does provide a good pilot with terrific assistance. Many perilous situations are prevented by automation. Additionally, different kinds of search patterns can be programmed into the steering system. Towards unified configurations The first NH90 helicopters that arrived in Finland had IOC, Initial Operational Configuration. This year, the army will start using IOC+ versions, which have an automatic fault analysis system added, amongst other things. The eleven helicopters to be completed in 2010 and 2011 represent the final FOC, Full Operational Configuration. Alongside their acceptance, helicopters already in use are being upgraded to FOC level. The fact that the NH90 helicopters are new and have different configurations makes the supply of some spare parts difficult, but this has not caused any major problems in Finland. Overall, in Vuolle s Ready for full lifespan support services Patria assembles NH90 helicopters at its premises in Jämsä. As the assembly work proceeds, Patria specialists gather valuable information that they can use for future service tasks and other support services required during the helicopter s lifespan. Getting to know a helicopter from the very beginning creates a solid basis for lifespan support, which, in addition to servicing, includes different types of updates and modifications. Later on, we can, when necessary, perform structural changes and repairs, comments Jouni Majuri, Executive Vice President, Helicopters. The service programme for the NH90 helicopters takes account of both the operational age and flight hours of the helicopter. As one option in fulfilling the programme, Majuri mentions the possibility of taking a service unit to the home base of the helicopters. Extensive services and modifications would be taken care of in Jämsä, and operative support could be located at Utti, where the customer is located. This mode of working would make resource use very flexible. In cooperation with other Nordic defence industry companies, Patria also aims at providing lifespan support services for the NH90 equipment that has been purchased by Sweden and Norway. view the decision to assemble helicopters in Finland is a wonderful solution. We can send our technical experts to Patria for training, and they can do the same. I am very satisfied with our honest and open cooperation, which I believe will become even closer in all sectors. Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/

14 in Focus CASA transport aircraft maintenance in new Tikkakoski hangar Patria and EADS-CASA have signed a cooperation agreement for C-295 transport aircraft maintenance, inspection and repair. As a subcontractor of EADS- CASA, Patria provides maintenance for the C-295 transport aircraft owned by the Finnish Defence Forces. The agreement allows for cooperation between CASA and Patria, including in the maintenance of other customers C-295 aircraft. Jykes Real Estate Company Ltd. has built a new service hangar in Tikkakoski for Patria s use: this new hangar, used for transport aircraft service, was officially inaugurated in March. In the new hangar, Patria services the Finnish Air Force s Fokker F-27 transport aircraft as well as the C-295s. Apart from transport aircraft maintenance, Patria provides the Finnish Air Force s basic pilot training and maintenance of the Air Force s Vinka and Redigo aircraft at Tikkakoski. Patria and Copterline begin helicopter cooperation From now on, Patria Helicopters AB will be responsible for providing maintenance and logistics support for Copterline s Eurocopter EC135 helicopters. The related cooperation agreement was signed in February. This agreement represents a step further in Patria s intent to become one of the leading Nordic providers of support services for helicopters and military airplanes, throughout the lifespan of the equipment. For quite some time now, Patria has been the authorised service provider for Eurocopter, Augusta, and Bell helicopters. Moreover, the company has gained experience from the ongoing NH90 Final Assembly project, which is being executed in cooperation with NHIndustries and Eurocopter. Patria has been servicing similar EC135 helicopters for the Swedish Police (Rikspolisstyrelsen) since 2001, and for several years for the ambulance helicopter service SHT (Skärgårdshavets Helikoptertjänst), which operates the Medi-Heli service. Platinum level maintenance for Bell helicopters Patria s Swedish subsidiary, Patria Helicopters AB, has achieved platinum level as a recognised Customer Service Facility of Bell helicopters. Thanks to its exemplary performance in 2008, Patria received this recognition from the Bell Helicopter company. Bell has approximately 140 service facilities around the globe, out of which only six are now recognised as having achieved platinum level. We greatly value this recognition, and believe that it will strengthen Patria s position as both the leading helicopter service company in the Nordic countries and in the worldwide Bell service market, says Jukka Holkeri, Executive Vice President in charge of Patria s Aviation Business Unit. Platinum-level Customer Service Facilities for Bell must have welltrained staff, a wide selection of Bell spare parts, and insurance coverage for all helicopters that are being serviced. The quality of service for Bell customers must also be nothing short of excellent. A development project, with the goal of substantially improving the company s profitability, competitiveness and customer service in an extremely intense competitive environment, is ongoing at Patria Land & Armament Oy. Organisational updates as of 1 April 2009 divided the business into 5 departments. Marketing and Sales, headed by Mr. Antti Huuskonen Delivery Programmes, headed by Mr. Jyrki Pihlava Product Development, headed by Mr. Kari Grön Production, headed by Mr. Juha Simola Administration, headed by Mr. Olli-Pekka Purhonen 14 Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/2009

15 In Sight Renewed guidelines on corporate responsibility Our renewed guidelines on corporate responsibility and business ethics are now being applied in practice. Everyone working for Patria will attend this extensive training. We will go through the renewed and supplemented guidelines together with Patria staff in all locations. This helps us ensure that all guidelines and instructions that steer our work at Patria and show us the way forward are clear to the Group s personnel. There are urgent reasons for making our guidelines more specific. International project exports by the Land & Armament Business Unit, while being small in scope but still forming a very visible part of the Group s operations, are suspected of unethical activities. The dents in our armour, a result of the problems our project deliveries faced in Slovenia and Egypt, are not easy to even out. Matters are still under investigation, but it is my firm belief that the joint investigations group formed this spring by Austria, Slovenia and Finland is the right way to resolve the situation. It is very important to us that the investigation be conducted professionally, thoroughly, and above all as speedily as possible. There is also a more general reason for renewing our corporate responsibility guidelines. Working under the umbrella organisation ASD (AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe), defence industry players have drawn up new guidelines which are currently being approved and deployed by the industry. The same topic is one of the major themes of the spring convention of the Association of Finnish Defence and Aerospace Industries (AFDA). AFDA, which represents over 80 Finnish defence industry players, has a major role in developing the transparency of the industry. AFDA will host ASD s annual convention in Helsinki in the autumn of 2009, and it is only natural that by that time we must have everything in good shape at national level as well. Traditionally, the defence industry has been linked with notions of secrecy to such an extent that we must redefine our ways of working. The underlying idea is that the defence industry must be comparable to any other industry in terms of its openness. As a welcome initiative to alleviate the situation, the Finnish Minister of Defence recently requested that the defence industry make proposals for actions that would improve the industry s outlook. In a very short time, this request produced a great many proposals. Projects emphasising the employment and regional policy were selected, after careful screening, for the economic recovery package aimed at the industry. It should be understood that almost no new capital is available. However, by prioritising projects and moving their schedules earlier, we can create improvements in the short term. In our own activities, service business is emphasised more than ever. We are a major employer in Finland, and most of our personnel work in the field of services. The Finnish Defence Forces, our largest customer, have already announced two major undertakings: the purchase of air defence system for Helsinki, and the purchase of air surveillance radars. The combined cost of these undertakings amounts to over EUR 600 million. In addition to their basic purchases, the Finnish Defence Forces will, within a year, undertake a few more large-scale purchases. The total sum of the current purchasing authorisations will exceed EUR 1.2 billion. Although most of these purchases will be directed at non-finnish weapons technology and systems providers, at the same time they demonstrate the major significance of the Finnish Defence Forces and countertrade for Patria. By participating in these undertakings, our goal is to create solid systems maintenance and development expertise in Finland. To be able to fulfil our customers needs, further development of our service concept is virtually a must. It is the only means we have of responding to the service, maintenance and training challenges that the Finnish Defence Forces pose for us be it on land, at sea or airborne. Wishing our readers a very pleasant summer, Heikki Allonen, President and CEO Heikki Allonen Patria Focus Corporate Magazine 2/

16 Patria delivers Protection and Performance with focus on increasing security through all its solutions. Patria Oyj, Kaivokatu 10 A, FI Helsinki, Finland, Tel , Fax , EN