Ukraine bolsters defence with Swedish Stridsvagn 122 tanks amid conflict
The Ukrainians received ten powerful Stridsvagn 122 tanks from Sweden, which are among the best combat vehicles in the world. The crew of one of these vehicles has expressed their gratitude and greetings to their Swedish instructors. Here are the specifications of this northern armoured beast.
The Ukrainian crew of the Stridsvagn 122, after an intensive two-month training – typically planned for 18 months – is effectively countering the Russian forces. Andrii, serving as the loader (the fastest in his unit), extends thanks to the Swedish instructors for the knowledge shared and reassures them, stating they shouldn't worry about them, as everything is fine.
Stridsvagn 122 - the world's best version of the Leopard 2A5 tank
Between 1994 and 2001, Sweden acquired a total of 120 Stridsvagn 122 tanks. Interestingly, these are not merely modified Leopard 2A4 tanks but were built from scratch. Some of them were produced in German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann plants, but most were made in Sweden under a license by the company Åkers Krutbruk Protection AB.
Compared to other Leopard 2A5 models, the Swedish tanks are distinguished by increased protection of the turret roof and the sides of the hull, which significantly improves their resistance to grenades fired from RPG-7 anti-tank grenade launchers and submunitions from cluster munitions. It has also been proven in combat that the Swedish variants of the tanks are the most resistant Leopard 2 variant to attacks from improvised "kamikaze" drones and more advanced Lancet-3 drones.
The Stridsvagn 122 tanks are equipped with an improved fire control system, more advanced than the A5 variants, similar to the systems used in Leopard 2A6 models. They also feature automatic Galix smoke grenade launchers and an upgraded fire suppression system. Along with the mentioned modifications, these tanks remain similar to the Leopard 2A5, including the characteristic wedges on the turret and the standard Rheinmetall Rh-120 gun of 44 calibres in length, which is also used in M1A2 Abrams tanks as the M256.
These highly effective tanks represent the pinnacle of the current deliveries of valued equipment, such as the H77BW Archer howitzers, CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, and AT4 anti-tank grenade launchers.
