The Armoured Brigade ( fi, Panssariprikaati) is a

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

training unit located in Parolannummi, near

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of F ...

, in southern Finland. The

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

specialises in training

armoured Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

and anti-aircraft troops. In case of mobilization, the Finnish Defence Forces would field one armoured brigade. The war-time armoured brigade has a strength of around 5,700 men, and fields 63

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s, 110

infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forc ...

s, circa 100

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s, mainly of Soviet origin, and roughly 70 other armoured vehicles. However, the remaining war-time armoured brigade is being phased out and replaced by smaller mechanized battle groups. The new mechanized battle groups will field the

Leopard 2 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

MBTs that are not included in the organization of the contemporary war-time armoured brigades.

Organisation

Since Finnish Defence Forces reform in 2015, the structure of the Armoured Brigade is the following: * Häme Armoured Battalion (HämPsP, ''Hämeen Panssaripataljoona'') ** Military Police Company (SpolK, ''Sotilaspoliisikomppania'') ** Tank Company (PsvK, ''Panssarivaunukomppania'') ** Armoured Jäger Company (PsJK, ''Panssarijääkärikomppania'') ** Armoured Pioneer Company (PsPionK, ''Panssaripioneerikomppania'') * Helsinki Anti-Aircraft Regiment (HelItR, ''Helsingin Ilmatorjuntarykmetti'') ** Command Post Battery (''Johtokeskuspatteri'') ** Armoured Anti-Aircraft Battery (''Panssari-ilmatorjuntapatteri'') ** 1st & 2nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Batteries (''1. & 2. Ohjusilmatorjuntapatteri'') ** NCO School (''Aliupseerikoulu'') * Jäger Artillery Regiment (JTR, ''Jääkäritykistörykmentti'') ** Armoured Signals Company (PSVIESTIK, ''Panssariviestikomppania'') ** Self-Propelled Howitzer Battery (PsHPtri, ''Panssarihaupitsipatteri'') ** Mortar Company (KrhK, ''Kranaatinheitinkomppania'') ** Command & Control Company (JoJäK, ''Johtamisjärjestelmäkomppania'') (Merged with Armoured Signals Company in December 2021) * Parola Supply Battalion (ParHP, ''Parolan Huoltopataljoona'') ** Truck Company (''Autokomppania'') ** Logistics Company (''Huoltokomppania'') **

Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces The Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimien varusmiessoittokunta) is a military band founded in Hamina in 1990 where it was a company-level unit in the Kymi Anti-Aircraft Regiment. In 1996, the Band was transferred to ...

(''Puolustusvoimien Varusmiessoittokunta'') * Logistics Centre (''Huoltokeskus'') * Electronic Warfare Center (''Elektronisen sodankäynnin keskus'') The Armoured Band (''Panssarisoittokunta'') was disbanded in 2013 as part of the FDF reform."Panssarisoittokunnan viimeiset varusmiessoittajat kotiutuvat"
(28.8.2013) Hämeen Sanomat, Retrieved on 26 August 2015. After disbandment of the Military Music School and the

Häme Regiment Häme Regiment ( fi, Hämeen rykmentti), ( sv, Tavastlands regemente) was a unit of the Finnish Army located in Lahti. The regiment's main duty was to train conscripts and the personnel of the Finnish Defence Forces and the Finnish Frontier Guar ...

, the Conscript band was attached to the Armoured Brigade."Hämeen rykmentti paloitellaan pitkin maata"
(8.2.2012) YLE, Retrieved on 26 August 2015. Following the disbandment of the Signals Regiment in 2014, the Center of Electronic Warfare was attached to the brigade."Viestirykmentin taival kesti 70 vuotta – juhlaparaati oli samalla päätösparaati"
(11.12.2014) YLE, Retrieved on 26 August 2015. The Armoured School, which trains reserve officers and career personnel, was attached to the Army Academy in 2015."Maasotakoulu - maavoimien puolustushaarakoulu uudistui"
(1.1.2015) Puolustusvoimat, Retrieved on 26 August 2015.

Training equipment

Leopard 2A4 The Leopard 2 is a 3rd generation main battle tank originally developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s for the West German army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West Germ ...

including Leopard 2R demining vehicle and Leopard 2L Bridge layer *

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, in service 1966–present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (russian: link=no, Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1), meaning "infantry fighting ...

(Ex-East German, fully withdrawn from service, except Forward Observation variants BMP1TJ and BMP1 TTJ) *

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle (of the) infantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development hist ...

(Operational, acquired from East-German surplus stocks) * Marksman (Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun) * Crotale NG - (Crotale NGs on Sisu XA-181 vehicles, designated ''ItO 90'') * Buk M1 known as ''ItO 96'', Anti-aircraft missile

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...

* 2S1 known as ''122 PsH 74'' (122 Panssarihaupitsi 74, 122mm armoured howitzer 74) * 2S5 known as ''152 TelaK 91'' (152 Telakanuuna 91, 152mm tracked cannon 91) * MT-LBV Armoured personnel carrier *

MT-LBu The MT-LBu is a Soviet multi-purpose fully amphibious armoured carrier which was developed under the factory index Ob'yekt 10 in the late 1960s, based on the MT-LB. It has a more powerful engine, a 40 cm higher hull and a longer chassis with ...

Artillery command vehicle * BTR-50 YVI Tracked signals vehicle *

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...

Ex-East German, fully withdrawn from service. Used as target dummies.

External links

Armoured BrigadeOrganisation table at official Finnish Defence Force site

References

{{reflist Brigades of Finland Hattula Armoured brigades