Of the 54 German-made Leopard 2 tanks ordered by Norway, 37 will be assembled by the Norwegian subcontractor Ritek, which in the future plans to become a Scandinavian center for maintenance and modernization of Leopard.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by AFP with reference to the Ministry of Defense of the country.
According to the agreement with the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, the Norwegian firm Ritek will become a subcontractor for the German manufacturer tanks In the future, a new production line in Levanger, in western Norway, is likely to assemble tanks ordered by other countries. It is also planned that Ritek will become a Scandinavian center for maintenance and modernization of Leopard vehicles.
“This agreement will help strengthen the capacity of NATO countries and Europe to increase the production of tanks in the future “, — the Norwegian ministry said.
In February 2023, the Norwegian government ordered 54 Leopard 2 A8 tanks for a total of 19.7 billion kroner to replace 36 obsolete Leopard 2A4 vehicles.
Next month, Norway reported that it delivered eight Leopard 2A4 vehicles to Ukraine.
As Ukrinform reported, the Norwegian government allocates up to 150 million Norwegian kroner ($13.7 million) for maintenance in Poland of Leopard-type tanks handed over to Ukraine.