Laser Shark

https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2020/05/15/acv-to-get-stryker-variant-of-30-mm-cannon/


 

Found an article about this that also mentions which sensors systems they’re looking at to replace Vingtaqs II. According to Rheinmetall Norway/Vinghøg, it’s the lack of clear and comprehensive specifications that has caused the delays in the delivery of this system. It then gets a bit confusing further down where it says that according to sources who were involved with the CV90 project, a decision was made to attach the sensor system to the hull instead of attaching it to a movable system???
 
Anyway, I guess the armed forces must have zero confidence in Rheinmetall Norway’s ability to deliver the product in the coming years because otherwise it seems a bit harsh to go so far as to cancel it in a world where we’re still waiting for NH90s that were ordered almost two decades ago…
 
 
 
Minor nitpick, but the CV9030NF1 is the designation for the 17 Mk I vehicles that were upgraded for service in Afghanistan. The designations for the new CV90 include CV9030 Mk IIIb if we're talking about the entire fleet of vehicles with turrets, and if we're talking about the specific variants, it's CV9030 SPV (the IFV), CV9030 STRILED (the command & control variant) and CV9030 OPV (the recce variant).
 

Perhaps I can shed some light on this...
 
That 250 figure might have been correct if the government had opted for alternative A of the Chief of Defence's advice on the future structure of the armed forces, but to no one’s real surprise, they ended up choosing the least ambitious alternative instead, which means that there will likely be a total of 4 mechanized battalions and 1 partially mechanized cavalry battalion in the future Norwegian Army.
 
Now, currently, a Norwegian mechanized battalion only has a single tank squadron of about 14-18 tanks, but even if they decide to bring back the second squadron in these units to match the number of mechanized infantry squadrons (generally agreed upon to be the optimal ratio), that’s still a lot less tanks than the 250 figure.
 
Finally, the Inpector General for the Army, Eirik Krisoffersen, actually stated that he had been promised 84 tanks in an interview last year, but it's uncertain if he was aware that the army would receive a fourth mechanized battalion at that point.
 
Also, for those who are interested there has been some debate on what will be the best tank for Norway in the last issue of Offisersbladet. It starts on page 52, where Christoffer Westermoen, who was assigned to the earlier Leopard 2 upgrade project, takes the Leopard 2A7V in defence after the editor of Offisersbladed wrote an article that seemed to favour the K2 as the more modern and interesting alternative. Then on page 54, Mogens Rasmus Mogenssen, the representative of various South Korean defence companies in Scandinavia, argues against some of the points Westermoen made, while also directing some criticism towards the Norwegian Army for apparently being too focused on the German alternative. There is also a contribution by Major general (retired) Terje Antonsen and Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Lars J Sølvberg on page 58.
 
 

Perhaps I can shed some light on this...
 
That 250 figure might have been correct if the government had opted for alternative A of the Chief of Defence's advice on the future structure of the armed forces, but to no one’s real surprise, they ended up choosing the least ambitious alternative instead, which means that there will likely be a total of 4 mechanized battalions and 1 partially mechanized cavalry battalion in the future Norwegian Army.
 
Now, currently, a Norwegian mechanized battalion only has a single tank squadron of about 14-18 tanks, but even if they decide to bring back the second squadron in these units to match the number of mechanized infantry squadrons (generally agreed upon to be the optimal ratio), that’s still a lot less tanks than the 250 figure.
 
Finally, the Inpector General for the Army, Eirik Krisoffersen, actually stated that he had been promised 84 tanks in an interview last year, but it's uncertain if he was aware that the army would receive a fourth mechanized battalion at that point.
 
Also, for those who are interested there has been some debate on what will be the best tank for Norway in the last issue of Offisersbladet. It starts on page 52, where Christoffer Westermoen, who was assigned to the earlier Leopard 2 upgrade project, takes the Leopard 2A7V in defence after the editor of Offisersbladed wrote an article that seemed to favour the K2 as the more modern and interesting alternative. Then on page 54, Mogens Rasmus Mogenssen, the representative of various South Korean defence companies in Scandinavia, argues against some of the points Westermoen made, while also directing some criticism towards the Norwegian Army for apparently being too focused on the German alternative. There is also a contribution by Major general (retired) Terje Antonsen and Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Lars J Sølvberg on page 58.
 
 

Perhaps I can shed some light on this...
 
That 250 figure might have been correct if the government had opted for alternative A of the Chief of Defence's advice on the future structure of the armed forces, but to no one’s real surprise, they ended up choosing the least ambitious alternative instead, which means that there will likely be a total of 4 mechanized battalions and 1 partially mechanized cavalry battalion in the future Norwegian Army.
 
Now, currently, a Norwegian mechanized battalion only has a single tank squadron of about 14-18 tanks, but even if they decide to bring back the second squadron in these units to match the number of mechanized infantry squadrons (generally agreed upon to be the optimal ratio), that’s still a lot less tanks than the 250 figure.
 
Finally, the Inpector General for the Army, Eirik Krisoffersen, actually stated that he had been promised 84 tanks in an interview last year, but it's uncertain if he was aware that the army would receive a fourth mechanized battalion at that point.
 
Also, for those who are interested there has been some debate on what will be the best tank for Norway in the last issue of Offisersbladet. It starts on page 52, where Christoffer Westermoen, who was assigned to the earlier Leopard 2 upgrade project, takes the Leopard 2A7V in defence after the editor of Offisersbladed wrote an article that seemed to favour the K2 as the more modern and interesting alternative. Then on page 54, Mogens Rasmus Mogenssen, the representative of various South Korean defence companies in Scandinavia, argues against some of the points Westermoen made, while also directing some criticism towards the Norwegian Army for apparently being too focused on the German alternative. There is also a contribution by Major general (retired) Terje Antonsen and Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Lars J Sølvberg on page 58.
 
 

12-cm Mörser 16
 

 
 
 
 

12-cm Mörser 16
 

 
 
 
 

12-cm Mörser 16
 

 
 
 
 

12-cm Mörser 16
 

 
 
 
 

Looks like MPF & OMFV from GDLS:
 
 

The first two CAESAR 8x8 have arrived at the garrison of the Danish Artillery Regiment in Oksbøl:
 
 

The first two CAESAR 8x8 have arrived at the garrison of the Danish Artillery Regiment in Oksbøl:
 
 

The first two CAESAR 8x8 have arrived at the garrison of the Danish Artillery Regiment in Oksbøl:
 
 

More K9 VIDAR footage. The .50 on top is also interesting as its one of the new M2A2N.
 

 

 
 
"Oh shit" at 1:16?

More K9 VIDAR footage. The .50 on top is also interesting as its one of the new M2A2N.
 

 

 
 
"Oh shit" at 1:16?

FFG has delivered the first of 30 PASI XA-203N MRSP (multirole medical platform) to the Norwegian Army, which will replace the existing SISU XA-185 ambulances, as well as plugging some of the gap that has been left by the decision to transfer all of the Bell 412SP/HP to the Norwegian Special Operations Command (a couple of them will still be on medevac duty in Northern Norway, but that’s it). The PASI XA-203N have previously been used as armoured personnel carriers, but there hasn’t been much use for them after the Norwegian Army abandoned the idea of having light armoured/motorized infantry battalions in 2013. Now the plan is to keep them trucking for another 20 years as armoured ambulances.
 
The vehicle was displayed at Army Summit 2019:

 

(NASAMS High Mobility Launcher in the foreground.)
 

 
The old armoured ambulance, SISU XA-185, offers inferior protection compared to the much heavier PASI XA-203N, but it also has a better power-to-weight ratio, and it maintains an amphibious capacity unlike the newer vehicle:

 
 

FFG has delivered the first of 30 PASI XA-203N MRSP (multirole medical platform) to the Norwegian Army, which will replace the existing SISU XA-185 ambulances, as well as plugging some of the gap that has been left by the decision to transfer all of the Bell 412SP/HP to the Norwegian Special Operations Command (a couple of them will still be on medevac duty in Northern Norway, but that’s it). The PASI XA-203N have previously been used as armoured personnel carriers, but there hasn’t been much use for them after the Norwegian Army abandoned the idea of having light armoured/motorized infantry battalions in 2013. Now the plan is to keep them trucking for another 20 years as armoured ambulances.
 
The vehicle was displayed at Army Summit 2019:

 

(NASAMS High Mobility Launcher in the foreground.)
 

 
The old armoured ambulance, SISU XA-185, offers inferior protection compared to the much heavier PASI XA-203N, but it also has a better power-to-weight ratio, and it maintains an amphibious capacity unlike the newer vehicle:

 
 

Well, firstly, the DF90 was never intended to replace the Leopard 1A5BE,  the purpose of the DF90 is to support infantry combat operations and, if necessary, providing an anti-tank capability.
 
Secondly, no miracle is to be expected from a medium-pressure 90 mm gun against a modern Main Battle Tank.
 
Thirdly, taking into account the additional weight, the running gear of the Piranha IIIC is push to its very limits.
 
Indeed, there was this one rumor with the loosening screws and bolts moving between the hull bottom and the anti-mine double-floor of the Piranha IIIC but as usual, it's overly exaggerated by the press.
 
Finally, I would say that budget cuts and wheels go well with each other. The Land Component believed until the last minute that they will get second-hand Dutch Leopard 2A5/A6.

Afaik nothing has changed since this information was released in March:
 
Meanwhile the Leo 2A4NOs are only getting a limited life extension, which mostly focuses on replacing worn out parts/parts that are difficult to source:
 
Source: https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/7635ac0d48d44fc180fac57f58be7518/faf-2019-2026-english---final.pdf

The MG3 has had an almost cult like following in the Norwegian military (also true for the AG3), but as more and more soldiers get their hands on the new MGs there has been less and less noise about “Hitler’s Buzzsaw” and its godlike rate of fire. I’ve never encountered anyone with experience with both the MG3 and the MAG who doesn’t prefer the latter.

https://www.janes.com/article/90883/mspo-2019-zmt-offers-ukm-2000pe-machine-gun-to-norway
 
ZMT offering the UKM 2000PE to Norway to replace thier MG3s.
 

Norwegian artillery personnel checking out the first K9 VIDAR* in South Korea:
 

 
* Strange that it got a name change rather than the usual "N" or "NO" added to the designation, and it's even stranger that they chose the Norse God of Vengeance rather than the Norse God of Thunder.