The European Commission has cleared a €79 million ($92.8 million) grant for the third phase of the FAMOUS program, a multinational project spearheaded by Finnish defense company Patria to advance next-generation armored vehicle technologies in Europe.
With a total budget of €115 million ($124 million), including contributions from participating nations, FAMOUS 3 falls under the European Defence Fund framework. This phase will build on earlier progress by prioritizing standardization, enhanced interoperability, and greater component commonality across European land platforms. A key objective is also to reduce lifecycle costs for both all-terrain and light armored vehicles through shared design principles and more efficient support structures.
Earlier phases of the program resulted in the development of the TRACKX, a platform designed to explore advanced mobility and combat capabilities in demanding operational scenarios. The vehicle weighs approximately 15 tons, accommodates up to 12 personnel including a two-member crew, and offers a payload capacity of around 3.5 tons. It has a range of roughly 600 kilometers and can achieve speeds of up to 88 km/h.
Going forward, development will continue to leverage Patria’s expertise alongside its consortium partners, with the goal of refining performance benchmarks for future armored systems used by EU member states. To date, the initiative has involved 20 countries and more than 50 European defense firms, with combined EU funding exceeding €100 million ($117 million) across earlier phases, supplemented by about €20 million ($23.5 million) from national governments.
