Patria has completed its acquisition of Belgium-based ILIAS Solutions, expanding its digital sustainment and life cycle management capabilities for military customers.
The Finnish defense group said the deal, announced in January and finalized Sept. 1, will integrate ILIAS’ defense software platform into Patria’s OPTIME service, supporting fleet management, depot-level maintenance and data-driven analytics.
“This strategic milestone marks a significant step forward in Patria’s capability to have a leading position in the digital transformation of defense,” said Pekka Ruutu, executive vice president for sustainment solutions at Patria. “With ILIAS Solutions now part of Patria group, we are delivering faster insights, greater asset visibility and smarter sustainment solutions to our customers.”
Expanding US Market Presence
ILIAS will continue to operate under its own name with offices in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Australia and the United States. ILIAS CEO Jean-Pierre Wildschut called the combination with Patria “highly complementary.”
“It is inspiring to see how seamlessly our teams work together,” he said. “We see significant growth potential in ensuring optimal equipment performance both in the European market and globally.”
Digital Sustainment and Readiness
The acquisition reflects a wider defense trend toward digital sustainment, where predictive maintenance, automation and supply chain visibility are seen as essential to readiness. In a July essay marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, Lt. Gen. Heidi J. Hoyle, deputy chief of staff for logistics, wrote that sustainment units must become “more agile, technologically sophisticated, collaborative and resilient” to support modern operations in contested environments.
Owned by the state of Finland and Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Patria currently operates in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia and Japan.
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