Ahead of Kouvola Security Forum 2024, interview with CEO Esa Rautalinko

Patria's CEO and President Esa Rautalinko was interviewed ahead of Kouvola Security Conference, which will be held on 13 September, 2024 (the interview has been published on the event's website).

Patria has participated Kouvola Security Conference since 2019. Patria organizes a panel at the event: If you want peace, prepare for war – European capability in defence production.

Join the live stream, see the details of the programme at www.kouvolanturvallisuus.fi/en

Esa Rautalinko: Finnish defence industry has shown good resilience in crisis situations  

Patria’s CEO and President Esa Rautalinko believes that Finland’s recent NATO membership is a significant reinforcement for the military alliance. He states, ‘Our level of activity in defence has remained high even when other EU countries have prioritised different matters.’ 

According to Rautalinko, besides Finland, only the Baltic countries and Poland have adequately prepared for ground warfare and invested sufficiently in artillery capabilities. ‘The wake-up call due to the Ukrainian war has certainly been felt in various places.’ 

The most prominent aspect of Finland’s military preparedness is the order of F-35 fighters from the USA. Patria is involved in the fighter programme in various ways, including assembling F135 engines and components between 2025 and 2030. 

‘This is followed by maintenance of F-35 fighters starting 2030. Roughly 50 people will be immediately employed due to this agreement,’ Rautalinko explains.

Necessary assembly and maintenance lines will be established in Nokia’s Linnavuori in Finland. 

‘Construction work in Nokia is already underway,’ reports Rautalinko. 

Maintenance capability is an integral part of overall performance  

Additionally, Jämsä will host an F-35 front fuselages production facility, where up to 400 fuselages will be assembled, with most destined for export. ‘We will also manufacture landing gear doors in Jämsä.’ 

The goal of this collaboration is to transition to comprehensive national maintenance capability, supporting the operational requirements of the Finnish Air Force in the coming decades. Simultaneously, the F-35 industrial participation programme in Finland contributes valuable expertise through security of supply and is also significant for national economy.   

Esa Rautalinko has served as Patria’s CEO since 2019, previously chairing the company’s board. Over the last five years, he has encountered unexpected challenges, including the Ukrainian war and the pandemic. 

"However, we have emerged from crises relatively unscathed. ‘For example, the pandemic demonstrated that our defence industry is highly resilient. Now, due to the Ukrainian war, there has been a need for a production ramp-up, and even in that aspect, we have succeeded.’ 

Who has the best situation room? 

New directions are constantly being explored. Patria recently acquired a Finnish drone company specializing in the production and training of professional drone systems. The expertise of Nordic Drones Oy nicely complements Patria’s Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offering. 

‘It is also essential to continuously develop this aspect,’ evaluates Rautalinko. 

Rautalinko emphasizes the need to strengthen collaboration among various players in the industry. A good example of this is the eALLIANCE initiative, led by Patria and co-financed by Business Finland, which began in early 2024. eALLIANCE aims to enhance cooperation between Finnish civilian and defence technology companies, with the goal of creating transformative digital solutions, as described by Rautalinko. 

‘Efficient information exchange and the construction of a comprehensive digital virtual world play a central role in the project. This leap in available situational information takes us to an entirely new level.’ 

The ecosystem genuinely generates innovation 

As a leading technology company in the field, Patria has excellent foundations and resources to lead this rather unique ecosystem, which is being built together with over 30 partner companies and other collaborators." 

“In our ecosystem, we have various-sized players with different specialisations, which allows for significant contributions,” evaluates Rautalinko. Finnish research organisations, universities, and other industry collaboration partners also play an important role in the ecosystem. 

Additionally, Patria serves as the industrial coordinator in the European Future Highly Mobile Augmented Armoured Systems (FAMOUS) programme. The programme aims to enhance the performance of both new and existing armoured vehicles with EU funding. The consortium involves 9 countries and 18 leading European defence companies. 

Good process has been made in the FAMOUS project in a quick schedule’, says Rautalinko. 

We will see you in Kouvola 

Patria has been a sponsor of the Kouvola Security Conference from the beginning. According to Rautalinko, Kouvola offers a broad and knowledgeable target audience: 

‘The opportunity to meet various stakeholders has been significant in Kouvola. The Kouvola Security Conference has had a national focus, but always with an international dimension,’ he reflects. 

Rautalinko has also been impressed by the high-quality nature of the event since the first seminar. 

"The themes live well in time. Now the opportunity is already widely quoted - and industry players are clearing space for it in the calendar."