Major order for KNDS from Scandinavia: The Swedish procurement authority FMV is ordering a total of 44 new Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks from the Franco-German manufacturer. In addition, 66 of the Swedish army’s Stridsvagn 122 tanks, which are based on the Leopard 2, are to be modified and modernized.
According to a recent FMV press release, with this treaty Sweden “joins a growing group of NATO-allies who are also relying on this tank model”. Most recently, Lithuania (-> To the report), the Netherlands (-> To the report) and the German Bundeswehr (-> To the report) opted for this type of tank. Norway (-> To the report) and Hungary (-> Handover of further Lepoard main battle tanks to Hungary) are procuring new Leopard 2A7s.
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In future, the modified Stridsvagn 122 will be designated Panzer 123A and Panzer 123B by the Swedish Army. Similar to the ongoing modernization of the Leopard 2A4 of the Austrian Armed Forces the modified tanks will hardly differ significantly from today’s tanks on the outside, but their capabilities will match those of modern main battle tanks. “The modification of existing tanks will enable us to reduce Swedish proprietary solutions and better adapt our capabilities to NATO standards in terms of both numbers and performance. Compared to the Panzer 122, these will basically be completely new tanks,” says Göran Mårtensson, Director General of the procurement authority FMV.
Delivery of the modified 123A tanks is planned for 2027 to 2030. The new Leopard 2A8s will then be delivered from 2028 until 2031. The order is worth a total of around 1.75 billion euros.
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