Laser Shark

Some promising news. Norway is reportedly considering the possibility of maintaining the Leo 2A4NO in other army units like the Finnmark Brigade and/or Brigade Sør, after all of the 2A8NOR have been delivered to Brigade Nord. So, 30-40 or so old tanks on top of the 54 new ones, which isn't much, but certainly better than before. The article* also mentions that it would be beneficial to upgrade the 2A4 to be more similar to the 2A8, which is probably referring to internal components, like the turret drive, FCS, communication equipment etc., but even that won't be cheap, so we'll see. https://www.forsvaretsforum.no/brigade-nord-forsvaret-forsvarsdepartementet/na-vurderes-fremtiden-til-dagens-leopard-vogner/469059 * The major they're quoting also happens to be the same guy that the first 2A8 NOR was named after.

An Anglo-Polish offering would hasten things up, but to reach the 2030 introduction date, it would probably still require that Poland postpone one of theirs so that it could go to Sweden. Now it’s not impossible that they’ll agree to that since those vessels are going to be operating in the same areas anyway - similarly to the UK’s conundrum wrt. Type 26 deliveries for Norway - but for now France is the only who has confirmed that they’d be willing to set aside a vessel for Sweden. I don’t think they’ll find that very appealing. It’s not a simple thing to introduce a new type of vessel, especially something that is as complex as a frigate. On top of that, the Type 23s are effectively on their last legs, which just adds to difficulties. Too much effort for an interim solution IMO.

Do you think it's feasible that Poland could deliver a frigate to Sweden by 2030, as that's reportedly an ambition* for the Swedish programme? It would be easier for me to swallow than the RN or MN having to redirect one of theirs, and thus weakening NATO in the Atlantic.

I don't see why there is such an urgency to get out so soon, but in any case, Naval Group are probably the only ones who can reach that goal, unless the UK is willing to redirect even more deliveries for the RN (a very bad idea IMO).

Interestingly, Poland's choice here could perhaps also influence Sweden’s choice wrt. the Luleå-class/new frigates. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/uk-lobbying-poland-buy-swedish-submarines-sources-say-2025-11-14/

Yep. Same with the Leo 2E, Leo 2A7+ (Qatar), Leo 2A7HU and now also the Leo 2A8. It's a common element among the post-Bundeswehr production batches... until the 2A8 of course.

New builds for the countries I mentioned. Same is true for the new 2A8s. A common feature among these is that they all have improved turret roof armor, which is something you don’t see on upgraded older models.

It's the first new one in 30 years for Germany, but new Leo 2s have been produced for other countries in that time frame (Sweden, Spain, Greece, Qatar, Hungary).

At long last, the roll-out of the first two Leo 2A8s for the Bundeswehr and Norwegian Army took place today. https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/i/rPvPyR/norges-nye-leopard-2-a8-nor-stridsvogn-presentert-i-munchen https://www.hartpunkt.de/rollout-des-ersten-kampfpanzer-leopard-2-a8-fuer-die-bundeswehr/

Just to be clear, I was referring to this line from the article: “The company has also received funding to begin development of a new air defence radar to replace Sampson and Artisan systems.” This is Artisan Next Gen as it turns out. The Type 83’s radar is obviously going to be a different type, even if there might be certain technologies and other lessons from Artisan NG in its design. Whatever the case may be, I think it’s safe to assume that the Type 83 will probably receive the best possible radar tech that's available in the mid to late 2030s when production kicks off.

But is weight really an issue here? If it isn’t, then I can see the rationale behind such a change since the caliber offers increased performance and is already adopted/in use in both navies. I do wonder what kind of performance and range the Next Gen Artisan is going to have. If it’s intended to replace not only the older Artisan, but also the Sampson on the Type 45s, as suggested by this Navy Lookout article, then it seems reasonable to assume that it should at least have as much range as the system it’s replacing. If so, that would be a big step up and might make it worthwhile to fund the integration of the Aster 30 into the Mk 41 as shown at DSEI this year. Well, more so for Norway than the UK, but nevertheless it could be an option if we absolutely, positively need to have that capability ourselves.

Well, the infographics straight up informs us that they’re Bofors 40 Mk4. What’s weird however is that it then goes on to show energy weapons as another alternative to the aft guns when it would be more natural for them to replace the Phalanx IMO, but maybe it was just easier to display them there? Anyway, some more photos of Artisan NG:

From around the 3:15 mark, they show a Type 26 with various upgrades from the original RN configuration, including a new radar, which has been referred to as “Artisan NG” by British posters, as well as ship launched Sting Rays, 2x Bofors 40 Mk4 (replacing the 30mm guns), box launchers for NSM etc. Not sure how much we should take away from this infographic; if these are upgrades that the UK and Norway are looking into, or if it’s just BAE showcasing some possibilities to potential customers.

Noted, but the error is not particularly important to the overall point the article is making.

If given enough time and money, but there's only so much of that to go around before you start asking yourself why you shouldn't just opt for an alternative that's available right now (or reasonably soon), and with a nicer price tag since the R&D is already paid for by someone else. I also kind of suspect that KDA already have their hands full with projects like the 3SM Tyrfing, sub-launched JSM, “universal air defence system” based on NASAMS, the Vanguard-concept etc., but they are a larger company these days than they used to be, so I could be wrong.