Forsvarets materielverk (FMV), the Swedish Defence Procurement Agency, announced on October 10, 2023, that it had signed a contract with the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), a part of the KNDS consortium, for the modernisation of 44 Swedish Army tanks with the designation Stridsvagn 122 – Leopard 2S. The contract was worth 3.5 billion Swedish kronor (300 million euros). It is anticipated that the Swedish military will begin receiving the improved tanks in 2026, and they will be given the designation of Strv 123A.
It is anticipated that this upgrade will involve replacing practically all electrical components of the tank to bring the systems to a level “similar to other modern Leopard 2 tanks,” as stated by FMV. In addition, the 120mm Rh 120 L44 gun will be replaced with a new 120mm Rh 120 L55 gun with a longer barrel length of 55 calibres. Additionally, the capability to fire programmable ammunition will be introduced, new night sights will be installed for the gunner and tank commander, a thermal imaging observation device will be installed for the driver-mechanic, and improvements will be made to the chassis, including the installation of new tracks.
Between 1996 and 2002, the Swedish Army was given 120 Leopard 2S tanks, also known as the Strv 122A. These tanks were effectively hybrids of the Leopard 2A5 and Leopard 2A6 versions, but they maintained the 120mm cannon with a barrel length of 44 calibres. To fulfil the specifications set forth by Sweden, these tanks underwent a comprehensive upgrade process, which included the protection of the turret and hull roof being beefed up. KMW in Germany created the first 29 Leopard 2S tanks for the Swedish Army. The other 91 Leopard 2S tanks were made in Sweden under licence, with Bofors responsible for turret production and Hagglunds responsible for chassis building and final assembly. Both of these companies are now a part of BAE Systems.
The designation “Strv 122B” was given to 14 Swedish tanks of this type in the 2000s when they were upgraded with new anti-mine protection features and temperature control systems. These improvements took place in Sweden. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) was awarded a contract by FMV in March 2016 worth 92 million euros for the repair and limited modernisation of 77 Strv 122A tanks, 11 Strv 122B tanks, and eight armoured recovery vehicles Bargningsbandvagn 120 (Bgbv 120, equivalent to BPz 3 Buffel) based on the same chassis. After the work was done, the Strv 122A tanks were renamed the Strv 122C tanks, while the Strv 122B tanks were renamed the Strv 122D tanks. It was anticipated that the work would be finished by the end of the year 2023.
10 Swedish Strv 122A tanks were sent to Ukraine by Sweden in 2023. Currently, the Swedish Army possesses roughly 110 (or approximately 105, according to some sources) tanks from the Strv 122 series, the sole tanks it has in its arsenal.
