Rental cars used in Norwegian military exercise recorded soldier activity and base access codes
Rental cars used by Norway's Home Guard during a September exercise recorded video of soldiers, their routes and codes typed into military gates, according to a participant quoted by Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv. The vehicles were rented from Hertz in Norway, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely. The Norwegian Armed Forces had hired the cars for the drill.
Why it matters: Norway just learned that renting civilian vehicles from a Chinese-owned firm during a military exercise means handing Beijing surveillance footage of troop movements and facility codes — a procurement oversight that should alarm every NATO logistics office.
Norway outlines acquisition model for up to 20 P1118 standardized vessels across two parallel contracts
Norway has revealed the procurement strategy for Project P1118, which will acquire up to 20 ocean-going standardized vessels for Norway, the UK and Lithuania through two parallel contracts. Naval News reports the vessels will share a common design to reduce costs and speed delivery. The P1118 programme is intended to provide multi-role platforms for patrol, surveillance and logistics missions.
Why it matters: Three NATO navies just bet on plug-and-play hulls to scale faster than bespoke designs — if it works, expect more allies to join the production run.
Denmark orders additional Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles for frigate fleet under Norway government-to-government deal
Denmark is procuring additional Naval Strike Missiles from Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to upgrade its frigate fleet. The deal, arranged as a government-to-government transaction with Norway, is valued at approximately €38 million. Neither the number of missiles nor the delivery timeline was disclosed.
KNDS Deutschland opens Leopard 2 A8 production line in Norway with RITEK
KNDS Deutschland and Norwegian specialist RITEK officially opened Leopard 2 A8 main battle tank production in Levanger, Norway, on October 15. The facility will produce 37 of the 54 Leopard 2 A8 tanks ordered by Norway, with production and test infrastructure now complete.
U.S.-Norwegian startup Heaviside unveils Tyr 2 kg loitering munition with anti-tank warhead
Heaviside Industries, a California-headquartered company with close ties to Norwegian arms-maker Nammo, launched the Tyr loitering munition at the Association of the U.S. Army annual meeting. The fixed-wing munition weighs slightly over two kilograms, offers four modular warhead options including an anti-tank variant supplied by Nammo, and the complete system weighs 6.8 kilograms. Nammo also provides a range in Norway for live-fire testing.
Why it matters: A man-portable loitering munition claiming tank-killing capability at 2 kg puts pressure on European programmes still measuring drone payloads in double digits.
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