Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) have agreed to align the nomenclature of the 54 new Leopard 2 main battle tanks contracted in March 2023 with that of the German procurement office for the German Leopard 2 replenishment, as the Norwegian Leopard 2 has all the characteristics of the redefined Leopard 2A8 configuration status. The new Norwegian main battle tank will therefore be known as Leopard 2A8 NOR main battle tank.
The German procurement authority introduced the Leopard 2A8 configuration, as it is a new production and includes the integration of the TROPHY Active Protection System (APS) from company EuroTrophy. The Leopard 2A8 NOR has additional features compared to the German A8 version, for example the integrated Norwegian ICS/CORTEX system from the Norwegian company Kongsberg. This system reconfigures data transfer in the main battle tank and communication with other combat systems.
The Leopard 2 is a third generation German main battle tank (MBT). Developed by Krauss-Maffei in the 1970s, the tank entered service in 1979 and replaced the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the West German army. Various iterations of the Leopard 2 continue to be operated by the armed forces of Germany, as well as 13 other European countries, and several non-European states around the world, including Canada, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore. Some operating states have licensed the Leopard 2 design for local production and domestic development.
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, a member of the German-French defense technology group KNDS, leads the European market for highly protected wheeled and tracked vehicles. At locations in Germany, Brazil, Greece, Hungary, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the USA more than 4.000 employees develop, manufacture and support a product portfolio ranging from air-transportable, highly protected wheeled vehicles through reconnaissance, anti-aircraft and artillery systems to main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and bridge-laying systems.
