Sweden has signed a contract with KNDS to supply the latest Leopard 2A8 and has also launched a large-scale restoration and modernization of its armored fleet.

The news was published on the country’s government website.

The Defence Materiel Administration, on behalf of the Swedish Ministry of Defense, signed an agreement with the German-French defense company KNDS to supply 44 Leopard 2A8 tanks. The vehicles, which will be codenamed Stridsvagn 123, will be manufactured according to Swedish requirements.

Along with purchasing an actual tank battalion, the Swedish military will also modernize 66 Stridsvagn 122 units, a slightly modified version of the Leopard 2A5, to the level of new tanks.

The two deals, which total approximately $1.54 billion, should increase the Swedish Armed Forces’ tank component to 154 units in a single Stridsvagn 123 modification.

Deliveries of military equipment are scheduled to begin in 2028 and end in 2031. At the same time, the modernization of existing vehicles is to be carried out.

The Swedish government has also approved a $450 million overhaul of 90 existing Stridsvagn 122 tanks to be completed by 2030. These vehicles are currently in need of refurbishment due to the accumulation of a significant number of malfunctions and general technical fatigue of the units.

“The deteriorating security situation means that we are now undertaking the largest defense rearmament since the 1950s, and this investment in tanks and combat vehicles is an important part of that,” Defense Minister Paul Johnson stated.

Swedish Stridsvagn 123 modernization project

The Stridsvagn 122 is a Swedish variation of the well-known Leopard 2A5 main battle tank, the design of which has undergone a number of changes at the request of the customer. The vehicle received different sighting devices, a reinforced chassis, additional armor protection modules and anti-stimulus screens, as well as French GALAX smoke grenade launchers.

The large-scale upgrade of the vehicles to the next version of the Stridsvagn 123 involves replacing the electronics, including the combat control system, gunner, and commander sights, with the same as those used on the Leopard 2A8. The vehicle’s driver will also receive a night vision device.

The tanks will also receive a new Rheinmetall Rh-120/L55 gun with an ammunition programming system and better ballistics due to a longer 55-caliber barrel instead of the old Rh-120/L44.

Earlier this month, Sweden, together with Denmark, also signed a contract for the production of more than two hundred CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, 40 of which are intended for Ukraine.