Norway, which previously ordered 54 Leopard 2 main battle tanks from Germany, will produce them at its own factories. More precisely, some of them, namely 37 units. And not to produce them completely, but to carry out their final assembly. Potentially, Norway will be able to assemble tanks for other countries. This was reported by the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.
Under an agreement with the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the Norwegian RITEK will become a subcontractor of the tank manufacturer. The new production line is located in the city of Levanger in the west of the country.
“The agreement will help strengthen NATO and Europe's capacity to increase tank production in the future,” the Norwegian Ministry of Defense said.
It is also planned that RITEK will become the Scandinavian center for the maintenance and modernization of the Nordic Leopard fleet. The armies of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are armed with Leopard 2 tanks of various modifications, adapted for use in northern latitudes.
The contract for the supply of 54 Leopard 2A8 tanks [according to other sources, 2A7NO] was signed by the Norwegian authorities in February 2023. The contract value is 1.8 billion US dollars. The new combat vehicles are intended to replace 36 obsolete Leopard 2A4 tanks, some of which (8 units) were transferred to Ukraine as part of military assistance.
Norway needs new tanks to form a tank battalion [the staff of such a battalion in NATO is 54 vehicles] as part of a heavy mechanized brigade. In turn, the presence of such a formation as part of the national armed forces is a requirement of the alliance. It is expected that all 54 tanks ordered will arrive in the Norwegian army by mid-2027. Previously, another delivery period was announced – until 2031.
Under an agreement with the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the Norwegian RITEK will become a subcontractor of the tank manufacturer. The new production line is located in the city of Levanger in the west of the country.
“The agreement will help strengthen NATO and Europe's capacity to increase tank production in the future,” the Norwegian Ministry of Defense said.
It is also planned that RITEK will become the Scandinavian center for the maintenance and modernization of the Nordic Leopard fleet. The armies of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland are armed with Leopard 2 tanks of various modifications, adapted for use in northern latitudes.
The contract for the supply of 54 Leopard 2A8 tanks [according to other sources, 2A7NO] was signed by the Norwegian authorities in February 2023. The contract value is 1.8 billion US dollars. The new combat vehicles are intended to replace 36 obsolete Leopard 2A4 tanks, some of which (8 units) were transferred to Ukraine as part of military assistance.
Norway needs new tanks to form a tank battalion [the staff of such a battalion in NATO is 54 vehicles] as part of a heavy mechanized brigade. In turn, the presence of such a formation as part of the national armed forces is a requirement of the alliance. It is expected that all 54 tanks ordered will arrive in the Norwegian army by mid-2027. Previously, another delivery period was announced – until 2031.