According to a statement on 24 February 2023, the Swedish government committed to deliver 10 Stridsvagn 122 main battle tanks (MBTs) to Ukraine
The new Swedish military aid package will also include the MIM-23 Hawk and IRIS-T air defense systems
The Stridsvagn 122 is a deeply modernized version of the German-made Leopard 2A5
equipped with a new fire control system and a new armor package, providing greater protection against ballistic threats
Sweden operates a fleet of 121 Stridsvagn 122s, which served with the Swedish ground forces since 1997
Externally, the vehicle can be distinguished from the Leopard 2A5 by the French GALIX smoke dispensers
different storage bins, and the thicker crew hatches
It has a crew of four with the driver seated at the front right side of the hull and three crew members
in the turret including the commander, gunner, and loader.
The Stridsvagn 122 was designed to fight in Swedish conditions including heavily forested areas as well as urban terrain
The designation derives from the 120 mm smoothbore gun which is capable of firing a variety of rounds
including armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), and high-explosive squash head (HESH) rounds
It also has a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun mounted next to the main gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the top of the turret
Strv 122 also had to overcome the perceived flaws of the original German tank
and features a heavily reinforced armour to protect against man-portable anti-tank weapons
The Stridsvagn 122 is fitted with a new passive armor system developed in Sweden by Akers
which will provide a very high degree of protection from both kinetic energy and chemical energy attack
It has additional armor protection over the frontal arc of the vehicle as well as on the upper surfaces to protect against top attack munitions
Quick ability to discover, identify and lock on a target with the assistance of a laser rangefinder
thermographic camera, and a ballistic computer for maximum accuracy
The combat system is capable of locking multiple targets at once
enabling the tank to fight numerous enemy vehicles without having to manually re-aim the gun after every shot
Maneuverability is provided by a MTU MB 873 Ka-501 4-stroke, 12-cylinder diesel engine
developing 1,500 hp coupled to a Renk HSWL 354 transmission with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears
Stridsvagn 122 can reach a maximum road speed of 72 km/h with a maximum cruising range of 470 km
Basically, Stridsvagn 122 is a modification to suit combat conditions in snowy areas and forests
That is, the engine must ensure reliability as well as high-precision weapons in such weather and environmental conditions
completely suitable for the current situation in Ukraine
The scenario of Sweden's Stridsvagn 122 tank against Russia's T-90M Proryv in the Ukraine battlefield
is attracting deep attention from the media as well as military analysts around the world