Leopard 2A7NO MBTs arrive in Norway for trial tests as candidate for new tank of Norwegian army.

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.
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German-made Leopard 2A7NO Main Battle Tanks to conduct trial tests. (Picture source Screenshot video published on Twitter by The Dead District)

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).

Citing Rheinmetall Defense information, the main armament of the Leopard 2A7 consists of one next-generation L55 gun, called L55A1. This high-pressure weapon is the system-side prerequisite for being able to use current and future performance-enhanced armor-piercing ammunition - which is fired in a higher pressure range. The L55A1 main armament is already being procured by several Leopard 2 MBTs user nations and is also the new main armament of the upgraded Challenger 3 of the British Army."  The second armament of the Leopard 2A7 includes one MG3A1 7.62x51mm caliber coaxial machine gun and a 7.62 mm MG3 machine gun mounted on the loader hatch located on the left side of the roof turret. Eight 76mm smoke grenade dischargers are mounted on each side of the turret.

The Leopard 2A7 is motorized with an MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine developing 1,479 hp. at 2,600 rpm coupled to a Renk HSWL 354 transmission with four forward and two reverse gears, with a torque converter and is completely automatic, with the driver selecting the range. It can run at a maximum road speed of 70 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 450 km.