Controversies have arisen in Norway regarding the advisability of purchasing new tanks.

This is reported by the Norwegian magazine Forsvarets forum.

The head of the Armed Forces of Norway, Eirik Kristoffersen, recommends to the Minister of Defense, Bjørn Gram, to abandon the purchase of new main battle tanks.

Kristoffersen confirmed his words in a conversation with journalists.

“It is true that I gave a recommendation. I will continue the dialogue with the government,” he wrote in an email.

In response to this appeal, Defense Minister Bjørn Gram said that the government would not stop the program to purchase new tanks.

“The government plans to buy tanks. The process continues in accordance with the future plan that was laid,” said the head of the Ministry of Defense.

Bjørn Gram says that the government will continue the dialogue with the head of the armed forces so that he changes his mind.

Eirik Kristoffersen now claims that buying new tanks means spending a lot of money on “defense, not mobility and firepower.”

Norway is now planning to sign a contract for 82 tanks worth NOK 19.3 billion, which is about $1.8 billion. Norway’s current Leopard 1 and Leopard 2A4 tanks are over 40 years old and require high maintenance costs.

Two suppliers of armored vehicles are currently competing for the tank contract: the K2 Black Panther from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem and the Leopard 2A7 from Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). The Norwegian Ministry of Defense plans to sign the contract by the end of 2022.

In search of a better option, in January of this year, Norway arranged a real public test for two candidate machines. German and Korean-made equipment was presented to the Minister of Defense and representatives of the Norwegian press.