Laser Shark

The Dutch have sold Leo 2s to Norway, Austria, Finland, Portugal and Canada, so most of them are still in Europe.

Well, the F126 has apparently made the cut, and that class is way worse in this regard. With that being said, though, something that might come into play is whether the future 3SM Tyrfing AShM is only intended to be launched from Mk41 cells, or if it will also have its own launcher unit as an option (like current NSM). If the former is true, then that could seriously hamper the chances of the F126 and the FDI, as it would the F-110. The Conneys then would fare much better with their 32 cells, as would the Type-26 with its 24-cells. Wrt. the latter I think Norway might opt for a mix of Tyrfings and ESSM Blk 2 since 48 Sea Ceptors is a bit on the low end IMO, and also because I’m not sure if Norway will be interested in TLAMs.

Not sure, but we know that the ASW capacity is a prioritized area, so unless money is an issue, the Type 26 is just the better candidate of those two.

The main issues with the Nansen-class are pretty much all down to terrible decisions on Norway’s part, including: - Heaviily redesigning the base design, adopting a lot solutions that no one else were using at the time, like SPY-1F. Hence the current requirement for a frigate that’s near identical to another country’s. - Penny pinching on the weapons suit («fitted for but not with») - Disasterclass handling of maintenance contracts. - Optlng for NH90 instead of Seahawk (Norway bares responsibility for why NH90 turned out horrible too, but in this case, the brunt of it is solidly with the manufactorer imo). The F110-class looks like it would have been a solid pick. As for why it’s out, I guess one cannot completely rule out what @TonyE has pointed out, but IMO it’s mostly down to a political wish to form closer ties with the downselected countries. It’s also a major reason why most expert think this will be down to the Type 26 vs Constellation-class, even if there are solid points in favor of F126/127 and FDI as well.

Yep, but more specifically, it’s its sister, the ACSV G5: https://www.ffg-flensburg.de/en/products/ffg-developments/acsv-g5/ Vid from recent test firing:

Fine by me.

You’re right. He only banned the sale of slaves to non-Christians, and slavery was only outright banned in 1102. Of course, they also brought feudalism and serfdom, which was only somewhat better than the previous arrangement.

I’m aware. I was merely questioning this notion that the Vikings didn’t want to become part of the Christian world, when clearly a lot of them did, whether it was for genuine reasons, or strictly practical ones. You could ask a similar question to the thousands of French peasants who were murdered in the chevauchées. As for the Normans, as brutal as they were, William the Conqueror has to be given some credit for being the first King of England to actually outlaw slavery.

There were many Christian Vikings, including some very prominant figures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Tryggvason https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_II_of_Norway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cnut

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(assembly) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_law (The Normans were also (at least nominally) Christian from the start. It was part of the deal they agreed to.)

I see. That's another matter, yes.

To the Atheist, it is the Christian and the Pagan who are cut from the same (superstitious) cloth.

While there is usually some academic disagreement on exact definitions, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that would disqualify present day Russia from being considered a civilization. If the Russian cities are abandoned for the hills and countryside, I’ll reconsider.

Russia, for all its faults, fits every criteria to be considered a civilization, and to state otherwise is quite bizarre IMO. Yes, they deserve every criticism for their actions towards Ukraine, as well as the consequences they’re now facing, but make no mistake, this is the work of a civilization. Nothing more, nothing less.

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/key-components-civilization/ Civilization endures as long as people are able to rebuild their cities between the sacks. ... but anyway, we are getting way off topic (as usual for Tank-net).