• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Stridsvagn 121 / Stridsvagn 122

The Leopard II was developed in the seventies after the joint US/German effort to develop a new main battle tank, the MBT-70, was brought to a halt and the project cancelled. The new main battle tank was developed by Krauss-Maffei AG, now Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), of München, Germany. The first production Leopards were delivered to the German Army in 1979. Over 3000 were produced. The tank is in service with the armies of Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Spain.

The tank 121 is the Swedish name for the 160 used Leopard II which Sweden "borrowed" in connection with the deal with the new Leopards (st. 122) was made up. These wagons were in varying condition when they came here in 1994 and they are from different manufacturing series called "losung", and they therefore vary a little in appearance right from the start. There are wagons from los.1 manufactured in 1977- and up to los 5. from 1987.

In addition to the Leopard 2A5 Improved S that are to be used by the armored brigades the Royal Swedish Army wanted to buy newer tanks to be used by the mechanized brigades. These would replace the aging S-tanks (and Centurions) then in use. A number of alternatives were considered, even the then most modern Russian tank, the T80U, was tested. But in the end it was decided that the mechanized brigades were to receive the Leopard 2A4. These tanks were received directly from the German Bundeswehr since they, because of the treaty regarding reduction of arms in Europe, were forced to reduce the number of tanks in service. Technically (read: "for political reasons") 160 Leo 2A4's were leased from the Bundeswehr for a period of 15 years.

Stridsvagn 122

The tank 122 is the Swedish version of the German tank Leopard 2A5 featuring additional armour protection. The wagon has been named by the Discovery Channel to be the best heavy-duty tank of all time.

After a spring of final negotiation, a contract could be signed on June 20, 1994 with Krauss-Maffei Wehrtechnik on the purchase and licensing of tanks Leopard 2 S. The contract also included the purchase of maintenance and education systems. At the same time, an "offset agreement" was concluded on counter purchase transactions at a contract value corresponding to the order. In parallel, one was made agreement with the German state on August 12 on a very favorable "leasing" of excessive Leopard 2. The CFE agreement from 1990 had limited how many tanks Germany could hold. The used tanks began to be delivered the same month and at the end of the year all 160 wagons were transferred.

Once in Sweden, the wagons went through technical review, were painted in Swedish camouflage pattern and supplied with Swedish radio systems before they were subsequently put into use. The tanks were given the name Strv 121. The twenty-nine first new Leopard tanks were assembled in Germany. The remaining 91 wagons licensed in Sweden - Bofors with responsibility for the turret and Hägglunds as responsible for chassis and final integration. The tanks were given the name Strv 122 - the first the specimen was delivered to FMV in December 1996 for type control and in 2002 all Strv122 were delivered to the Armed Forces.

The tank 122 has a turret that can be rotated 360 degrees and directed electrically. The crew consists of four people: A driver in the driver's compartment of the chassis, as well as a wagon manager, a shooter and a charger up in the tower.

The trolley is armed with a 12-centimeter cannon, two 7.62-millimeter machine guns and a smoke cabinet battery. Armored projectiles and explosive grenades are used for the cannon, which can combat targets of up to 4,000 meters. The shooter and carriage manager each have a view with stabilized sight lines. The gun is also stabilized, which means that the line of sight and cannon are directed towards the target when driving on uneven terrain. With the help of infrared vision, the tank 122 can also be used at night, in poor visibility and against visually camouflaged targets.

The front of the chassis is reinforced with protective modules on both the inside and outside. In front of the driver's hatch and in front of the tower storage there is protection for armor projectiles. The tower is externally reinforced with protective modules, and the battle room is clad with fiberglass plates that give the crew extra protection against splinters. There is also a CBRN protection system that protects the crew from radioactive, biological and chemical warfare agents.

An order was signed with the supplier Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH in March 2016 to deliver 46upgraded Strv 122, 4 Bgbv 120 and 48 equipment kits for upgradingthe remaining tanks (44) and salvage vehicles (4) at the Armed Forces' own workshops. The order was expandedwith a further 13 sets of materiel in March 2017 to meet the need for tanks (11) andrescuers (2) in the battle group on Gotland. In addition to this, replacement units and spare parts for three are also procuredyears of peacekeeping.