Norway will order Leopard 2A7 tanks from Germany

Norway will order 54 new Leopard 2 tanks for its army from the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Group.

The Norwegian media NRK reported about this.

The purchase of tanks was announced by the prime minister and the ministers of finance and defense of Norway during a joint press conference.

They confirmed that the deal will involve the production of 54 Leopard 2A7 tanks from the German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann Group and the option on an additional 18 units.

Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram added that the first tanks could be delivered as early as 2026.

The Prime Minister of Norway also pointed that the decision to purchase new armored vehicles was caused by the war in Ukraine and the need to strengthen Norway’s defense.

Leopard vs Panther

Previously, Militarny reported that Norway announced a tender for the purchase of new tanks between two suppliers of armored vehicles: K2 Black Panther from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and the Leopard 2A7 from Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).

In search of a better option, in January 2022, Norway arranged a real public test for two candidate vehicles.

The appearance of the “Black Panther” in the tender is a sign of cooperation between Seoul and Oslo in the military-technical sphere, which began with the purchase of K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers from South Korea.

On the other hand, the Norwegian military has been operating German-made Leopard 2 tanks for a long time and is well acquainted with these vehicles.

At the same time, amid the disputes about which is the best tank for the Norwegian army, the country also began to talk about that the purchase of any new tanks may be an irrational expenditure.

The head of the Armed Forces of Norway, Eirik Kristoffersen, recommended to the Minister of Defense, Bjørn Arild Gram, to refuse the purchase of new main battle tanks.

Kristoffersen justified his statement by the fact that buying new tanks means spending a lot of money on “defense, not on mobility and firepower.”

Norway originally planned to buy 72 tanks, but in recent months politicians have compromised on smaller purchases after the country’s defense chief recommended spending more on helicopters, drones and long-range artillery.