According to pictures and video published on Twitter on January 10, 2022, two Leopard 2A7NO German-made Main Battle Tank arrived in Norway to conduct trial tests in the framework of a program launched by the Norwegian Ministry of Defense to acquire a new fleet of tanks.
In November 2020, Norwegian Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen has presented Norwegian defense plans for the renewal of the country’s MBTs. According to these plans, Norway intends to field the new tanks from 2025. Norway has shortlisted two candidates including the Leopard 2A7 manufactured by the German company KMW and K2 Black Panther from South Korea.
To meet this demand, the German company KMW offered the Leopard 2A7NO MBT, a modified version of its Leopard 2A7 tank, according to specific requirements of the Norwegian armed forces.
The Leopard 2A7 is a modernized version of the German-made Leopard 2A6 which is a further development of the Leopard 2A5 variant armed with the Rheinmetall 120 mm L/55 smoothbore gun.
The Leopard 2A7 MBT was first revealed in 2010 and the tank is now in service with Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Qatar with the Leopard 2A7+. The Leopard 2A7 has been designed to offer a modular armor package. The tank is fitted with a new additional composite armor kit offering more protection against anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and rocket propelled grenades (RPGs).