Laser Shark

Looks like the Netherlands are acquiring the SHORAD variant of the ACSV G5:
 
 
https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2023/06/05/verwerving-luchtverdediging-op-korte-en-middellange-afstand-in-1-project

According to the Dutch MoD, a Boxer based solution would be considerably more expensive, but they do not mention any numbers.
 
"The SHORAD capability will be delivered on the Armored Combat Support Vehicle (ACSV) G5. The SHORAD solution on the ACSV G5 is fully compliant and MOTS is available (the ACSV G5 is in production and will be delivered to Norway in Q3 of this year). The development risks for the integration with the MMR and the command and control IT of Defense are low, resulting in MOTS. The alternative, the SHORAD solution on the Boxer armored vehicle, is considerably more expensive, has a high development risk and has a longer delivery time."
 
https://open.overheid.nl/documenten/a7533034-3089-4996-9187-2603a070a97b/file

Well, earlier in Oct, ROK stated that they’d be willing to give up 24 tanks from their own production line, and could ship these to Norway in 6-8 months, but those would almost certainly have been regular K2s, and not the proposed K2NO variant. Still, a couple of dozen interim/“gap filler” K2s would nonetheless have been an improvement on the current tanks, even if they didn’t meet all of the requirements, so there is that to consider.
 
On the other hand, I personally can’t really see why this would have been a particularly big selling point until the government decided that we should donate some of our Leo 2s to Ukraine (even though we barely have enough to outfit our current tank squadrons…), but that decision was also made after FMA had already delivered their recommendation, so who knows...
 
 
Not attack helos. Just new transport helos (Bell 412 replacement) for the Army and SOF, as well as new naval helos (NH90 NFH replacement) for the Navy and Coastguard. He also wants long range rocket artillery, and more air defence systems. In other words, sensible stuff, which should be funded, but so should the new tanks IMO.

Re the Norwegian acquisition, it's been revealed that the contract value sits at approx. 11.5 BNOK, and that it will cost 3.6 BNOK to acquire another 18. So roughly 20 million USD per tank.
 
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gl7aTL9wZWEJ:https://www.tu.no/artikler/prisen-pa-tyske-stridsvogner-er-klar-koreanerne-besoker-norge-for-a-fa-svar/527779&cd=1&hl=no&ct=clnk&gl=no

Re the Norwegian acquisition, it's been revealed that the contract value sits at approx. 11.5 BNOK, and that it will cost 3.6 BNOK to acquire another 18. So roughly 20 million USD per tank.
 
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gl7aTL9wZWEJ:https://www.tu.no/artikler/prisen-pa-tyske-stridsvogner-er-klar-koreanerne-besoker-norge-for-a-fa-svar/527779&cd=1&hl=no&ct=clnk&gl=no

KMW has been officially contracted to produce and supply 2A7s for Norway. Deliveries will start in 2026 and finish in/by 2028.
 
https://www.spartanat.com/2023/02/leopard-a7-no-gekauft/

As with the Wisent 2s, it seems they’re looking to implement some weight saving measures on the new Leo 2 AVLBs:
 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/vintertesting-av-haerens-nye-bropanservogner?fbclid=IwAR2ENR_nhxj8kv8PvQjT7LXsmVUm04TERIp9GNe6IDrb_uHPM9HLCMt6U_I
 
* I wonder if these "light skirts" are just the standard Leo 2 skirts, that are only lighter in comparison to the heavier and better protected skirts on the German Army's Leo 2 AVLB?
 

The 62.5 tonnes figure concerned a dispensation limit for certain stretches of the road network, and we (as in people who don’t have inside knowledge) don’t know if there even existed such a requirement (probably not seeing as how the Norwegian government is on record stating that both tanks satisfied the requirements).
 
We also don't know for certain if Leo 2A7NO will exceed 62.5 tonnes, but considering that KMW’s own website lists a weight of 61.5-64.3 tonnes (likely empty vs combat ready, but a lot of the bells and whistles like APS are apparently not included in the latter figure either), it does seem rather likely. Of course, this is also going to limit where this tank can go compared to earlier Leo 2A4NO (and the proposed K2NO) unless the Norwegian Public Roads Administration start granting requests for heavier dispensations and/or more of the road infranstructure is upgraded to handle the extra weight.
 
Leo 2A7NO might also not be worse protected than its German and Danish counterweight if weight can be saved in other ways, e.g. lighter tracks, lithium batteries instead of APU, new materials and construction techniques (as mentioned by @SH_MM)etc.. Insufficient protection was among the given reasons for cancellation of the earlier P 5050 project, so Leo 2A7NO should at least be better protected than a Leo 2A4NO with add-on armor.
 
-------------------------
 
Now for some more juicy gossip & drama. Dagens Næringsliv – the same newspaper that broke the stories about the Chef of Defence’s advice to cancel this project and the compromise with a reduced order – now write that according to sources close to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (FMA) had actually recommended the K2 in their assessment of the candidates, with its lower price and better availability being what ultimately tilted the scale in its favour, It was apparently also the option that the Chief of Defence was the most on board with, which I suppose makes sense seeing as how it sounds like he’d rather spend as little as possible on new tanks (heh). Ultimately, though, the Norwegian government would not heed either them as they had already made up their minds on the importance of strengthening the military and industrial bonds with Germany (I hate to toot my own horn, but I did predict as much earlier in this thread).
 
Source: https://www.dn.no/politikk/jonas-gahr-store/stridsvogner/bjorn-arild-gram/dette-skjedde-i-kulissene-da-forsvarssjefen-fikk-stridsvognene-han-ikke-ville-ha/2-1-1400163?shareToken=NDkyMTMsMi0xLTE0MDAxNjMsMTY3NTkzMjMwNTk0Niw0ZTY0NDA0ODgyN2JjYzZjMzZiY2Q5MDhkNDlkNWI2Ng%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR04fgGVb6cffzIX2wZqmG84LRNTRSCElOfjreFJ0i9qNcOZRObb3GYb0TE

As with the Wisent 2s, it seems they’re looking to implement some weight saving measures on the new Leo 2 AVLBs:
 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/vintertesting-av-haerens-nye-bropanservogner?fbclid=IwAR2ENR_nhxj8kv8PvQjT7LXsmVUm04TERIp9GNe6IDrb_uHPM9HLCMt6U_I
 
* I wonder if these "light skirts" are just the standard Leo 2 skirts, that are only lighter in comparison to the heavier and better protected skirts on the German Army's Leo 2 AVLB?
 

As with the Wisent 2s, it seems they’re looking to implement some weight saving measures on the new Leo 2 AVLBs:
 
https://www.fma.no/aktuelt-og-media/2020/vintertesting-av-haerens-nye-bropanservogner?fbclid=IwAR2ENR_nhxj8kv8PvQjT7LXsmVUm04TERIp9GNe6IDrb_uHPM9HLCMt6U_I
 
* I wonder if these "light skirts" are just the standard Leo 2 skirts, that are only lighter in comparison to the heavier and better protected skirts on the German Army's Leo 2 AVLB?
 

The 62.5 tonnes figure concerned a dispensation limit for certain stretches of the road network, and we (as in people who don’t have inside knowledge) don’t know if there even existed such a requirement (probably not seeing as how the Norwegian government is on record stating that both tanks satisfied the requirements).
 
We also don't know for certain if Leo 2A7NO will exceed 62.5 tonnes, but considering that KMW’s own website lists a weight of 61.5-64.3 tonnes (likely empty vs combat ready, but a lot of the bells and whistles like APS are apparently not included in the latter figure either), it does seem rather likely. Of course, this is also going to limit where this tank can go compared to earlier Leo 2A4NO (and the proposed K2NO) unless the Norwegian Public Roads Administration start granting requests for heavier dispensations and/or more of the road infranstructure is upgraded to handle the extra weight.
 
Leo 2A7NO might also not be worse protected than its German and Danish counterweight if weight can be saved in other ways, e.g. lighter tracks, lithium batteries instead of APU, new materials and construction techniques (as mentioned by @SH_MM)etc.. Insufficient protection was among the given reasons for cancellation of the earlier P 5050 project, so Leo 2A7NO should at least be better protected than a Leo 2A4NO with add-on armor.
 
-------------------------
 
Now for some more juicy gossip & drama. Dagens Næringsliv – the same newspaper that broke the stories about the Chef of Defence’s advice to cancel this project and the compromise with a reduced order – now write that according to sources close to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (FMA) had actually recommended the K2 in their assessment of the candidates, with its lower price and better availability being what ultimately tilted the scale in its favour, It was apparently also the option that the Chief of Defence was the most on board with, which I suppose makes sense seeing as how it sounds like he’d rather spend as little as possible on new tanks (heh). Ultimately, though, the Norwegian government would not heed either them as they had already made up their minds on the importance of strengthening the military and industrial bonds with Germany (I hate to toot my own horn, but I did predict as much earlier in this thread).
 
Source: https://www.dn.no/politikk/jonas-gahr-store/stridsvogner/bjorn-arild-gram/dette-skjedde-i-kulissene-da-forsvarssjefen-fikk-stridsvognene-han-ikke-ville-ha/2-1-1400163?shareToken=NDkyMTMsMi0xLTE0MDAxNjMsMTY3NTkzMjMwNTk0Niw0ZTY0NDA0ODgyN2JjYzZjMzZiY2Q5MDhkNDlkNWI2Ng%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR04fgGVb6cffzIX2wZqmG84LRNTRSCElOfjreFJ0i9qNcOZRObb3GYb0TE

The 62.5 tonnes figure concerned a dispensation limit for certain stretches of the road network, and we (as in people who don’t have inside knowledge) don’t know if there even existed such a requirement (probably not seeing as how the Norwegian government is on record stating that both tanks satisfied the requirements).
 
We also don't know for certain if Leo 2A7NO will exceed 62.5 tonnes, but considering that KMW’s own website lists a weight of 61.5-64.3 tonnes (likely empty vs combat ready, but a lot of the bells and whistles like APS are apparently not included in the latter figure either), it does seem rather likely. Of course, this is also going to limit where this tank can go compared to earlier Leo 2A4NO (and the proposed K2NO) unless the Norwegian Public Roads Administration start granting requests for heavier dispensations and/or more of the road infranstructure is upgraded to handle the extra weight.
 
Leo 2A7NO might also not be worse protected than its German and Danish counterweight if weight can be saved in other ways, e.g. lighter tracks, lithium batteries instead of APU, new materials and construction techniques (as mentioned by @SH_MM)etc.. Insufficient protection was among the given reasons for cancellation of the earlier P 5050 project, so Leo 2A7NO should at least be better protected than a Leo 2A4NO with add-on armor.
 
-------------------------
 
Now for some more juicy gossip & drama. Dagens Næringsliv – the same newspaper that broke the stories about the Chef of Defence’s advice to cancel this project and the compromise with a reduced order – now write that according to sources close to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (FMA) had actually recommended the K2 in their assessment of the candidates, with its lower price and better availability being what ultimately tilted the scale in its favour, It was apparently also the option that the Chief of Defence was the most on board with, which I suppose makes sense seeing as how it sounds like he’d rather spend as little as possible on new tanks (heh). Ultimately, though, the Norwegian government would not heed either them as they had already made up their minds on the importance of strengthening the military and industrial bonds with Germany (I hate to toot my own horn, but I did predict as much earlier in this thread).
 
Source: https://www.dn.no/politikk/jonas-gahr-store/stridsvogner/bjorn-arild-gram/dette-skjedde-i-kulissene-da-forsvarssjefen-fikk-stridsvognene-han-ikke-ville-ha/2-1-1400163?shareToken=NDkyMTMsMi0xLTE0MDAxNjMsMTY3NTkzMjMwNTk0Niw0ZTY0NDA0ODgyN2JjYzZjMzZiY2Q5MDhkNDlkNWI2Ng%3D%3D&fbclid=IwAR04fgGVb6cffzIX2wZqmG84LRNTRSCElOfjreFJ0i9qNcOZRObb3GYb0TE

The reduced order (originally, the project called for 72-84 tanks) is supposedly a compromise between the MoD and the Chief of Defence since the latter wanted to put the project on ice in order to accelerate other projects, like long range rocket artillery (somehow we are still at the point where projects like these are pitted against each other…). Hopefully they’ll rectify this in the future since the order does include an option for the missing 18 tanks, but I won't be holding my breath.

The reduced order (originally, the project called for 72-84 tanks) is supposedly a compromise between the MoD and the Chief of Defence since the latter wanted to put the project on ice in order to accelerate other projects, like long range rocket artillery (somehow we are still at the point where projects like these are pitted against each other…). Hopefully they’ll rectify this in the future since the order does include an option for the missing 18 tanks, but I won't be holding my breath.

Norway buys 54 new Leopard 2s
 
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/norway-order-54-new-army-tanks-germany-nrk-2023-02-03/

The Polish Armaments Group managed to win a Norwegian tender for the delivery of MANPADS, making Norway the first user of the "Piorun" system that had not previously used Groms or other MANPADS of Soviet provenance
 

Another update re the Norwegian MBT project:
 
Apparently, South Korea is also offering to divert 24 tanks from their own production line, which means that the deliveries can start as early as 6-8 months after the contract is signed. Not sure if those would be K2NOs or more or less standard South Korean Army K2s that will have be converted at a later stage.
 
https://forsvaretsforum.no/haeren-materiell-sor-korea/sor-korea-tilbyr-a-sende-egne-stridsvogner-til-norge/287778

Another update re the Norwegian MBT project:
 
Apparently, South Korea is also offering to divert 24 tanks from their own production line, which means that the deliveries can start as early as 6-8 months after the contract is signed. Not sure if those would be K2NOs or more or less standard South Korean Army K2s that will have be converted at a later stage.
 
https://forsvaretsforum.no/haeren-materiell-sor-korea/sor-korea-tilbyr-a-sende-egne-stridsvogner-til-norge/287778

Another update re the Norwegian MBT project:
 
Apparently, South Korea is also offering to divert 24 tanks from their own production line, which means that the deliveries can start as early as 6-8 months after the contract is signed. Not sure if those would be K2NOs or more or less standard South Korean Army K2s that will have be converted at a later stage.
 
https://forsvaretsforum.no/haeren-materiell-sor-korea/sor-korea-tilbyr-a-sende-egne-stridsvogner-til-norge/287778

Proposed AMX-30 upgrade by EODH :
 

Somewhat similar to the Leopard 1 C2 I guess :
 
 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/general-dynamics-business-units-to-participate-in-ausa-2022-301640911.html
Sounds like the NextGen vehicles actually exist as prototypes.