Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) has signed a contract with General Dynamics European Land Systems–Bridge Systems (GDELS) for procuring the latest generation of the M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system.
The contract is valued at Nkr1.2bn ($118.3m), under which the Norwegian Army will receive the new vehicles between autumn 2026 and 2028, according to a statement released on NDMA’s Norwegian website.
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With this procurement, Norway becomes the third Nordic Defence Cooperation member to acquire the M3, joining Sweden and Denmark.
The deal brings the total number of NATO member states that will use the M3 system to six.
NDMA director general Gro Jære said: “In collaboration with the supplier and the Swedish Armed Forces, we have secured this contract for the bridge and ferry system for the Army in record time.”
The M3 amphibious system is designed for both bridging and ferrying operations, supporting transport of all NATO vehicles, including main battle tanks.
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By GlobalDataAll M3 vehicles come with four-wheel drive and steering as well as a six-speed automatic gearbox. The vehicle can travel up to 80 kilometres per hour on roads.
For water operations, it features two 360-degree rotatable water pump jets, providing full manoeuvrability.
The M3 can operate in water currents of roughly 3.5 metres per second and at depths of up to 1.05 metres (m).
Deployment of a 100m bridge using the M3 takes less than 10 minutes.
In water, the vehicle travels at approximately 9 kilometres per hour when fully loaded and reaches up to 14 kilometres per hour without any load.
In October 2025, Germany and the UK signed a contract exceeding €450m ($520m) with the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the joint procurement of the latest M3 amphibious bridging and ferry vehicles from GDELS in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) ordered nine more M3 systems from GDELS in September 2024.
