OSLO, ($1=8.83 Norwegian Krone) – Norway has signed a contract with the defense company BAE Systems for the maintenance of its infantry fighting vehicles (BMF) CV90, learned BulgarianMilitary.com, citing Mil.in.ua.
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On January 10, BAE Systems announced the signing of a new agreement for the technical support of 144 CV90s of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
A seven-year contract with the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization governs the procurement of components and equipment, as well as management and engineering work.
The agreement includes the maintenance of a system integration laboratory, which ensures that both the customer and BAE Systems can monitor the current state of combat vehicles and the state of readiness to optimize the performance and capabilities of vehicles.
“We are pleased to sign this contract to ensure the future security of the CV90 fleet for the future, both for ongoing support and for gradual renewal of capabilities,” said Major General Lars Christian Aamodt, head of the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization.
“Today we have one of the world’s most advanced infantry fighting vehicles capable of advancing all-military air and naval systems. With this contract, we strive to remain in this position for many years to come,” said Major General Aamodt.
The company noted that the gradual modernization and continuous improvement is a joint effort of the Norwegian army, local industry, and BAE Systems Hägglunds, which will maintain the proven combat performance of the CV90 among the most modern infantry fighting vehicles.
Norway is one of seven European CV90 users. The other six are Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. In total, 1,300 BMPs of this type are operated in Europe in various modifications. The car has been mass-produced since 1993.
K-2 Black Panther or Leopard II?
As BulgarianMilitary.com reported, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense has announced a plan to acquire new tanks to replace the Leopard 2A4NO used there today. Offers from South Korea [K-2 Black Panther] and Germany with brand new Leopard 2s are considered.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defense has for a long time been conducting analyzes related to the maintenance and development of the capabilities provided today by the Leopard 2A4NO MBTs. In the beginning, as many as nine variants were taken into account, but in the last stage of work, two remained: modernization of the existing tanks under the so-called project 5050 and the acquisition of new machines.
The Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that it assessed that the modernization of the existing Leopards obtained “second-hand”, i.e. from the surplus of the Netherlands, will not provide an adequate level of capabilities when it comes to protecting the interior of the tanks against new generation ammunition, but also their ability to operate in a network-centric system communication, which is introduced in the land forces.
At the same time, it was decided that two types of new tanks could be considered: the Korean K2 Black Panther by Hyundai Rotem and … the newly built Leopard 2. one of the solutions.
It is interesting because even the Germans themselves are modernizing the Leopard 2A4s, bought from KMW, to the 2A7V standard, with the assumption that they will be used until the introduction of the new MGCS tank. This is done under the contract from 2017, the 2A4 version is 68 out of 104 vehicles covered by the contract. However, the Norwegians could have machines from other production batches, with different degrees of wear, or adopt more stringent criteria than the Germans regarding the requirements for new tanks.
Norway currently has around 50 Leopard 2A4NOs, and a detailed replacement plan, including proposals on numbers and costs, is to be presented to Parliament next year. It is assumed that the new tanks could enter service from 2025.
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