Commanders!
Today we’d like to tell you more about the second vehicle from the upcoming Force Recon Battle Path – the Stridsvagn 122 Main Battle Tank.
The Stridsvagn 122 is a Swedish version of the Leopard 2A5 Main Battle Tank featuring a number of improvements.
After the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, Sweden took a long hard look at the state of its armed forces. Despite the traditional Swedish neutrality, the Soviet Union was seen as the obvious opponent in a potential defensive war, which led, amongst other things, to the adoption of the unique turretless Stridsvagn 103 (also known as the S-Tank) in the 1960s alongside a more traditional Centurion. However, by the early 1990s, both were hopelessly obsolete – a fact that was underlined by a series of trials that took place between 1992 and 1994.
These trials were designed to take a look at a future Swedish MBT with pure performance not being the sole focus – emphasis was also given on a potential interoperability with the NATO. Three tanks were looked at – Leopard 2A4, M1A2 Abrams and Leclerc (which was mostly seen as an outlier).
Long story short – the Leopard won, which led to the purchase of 160 older German Leopard 2A4 tanks in 1994 (under the designation Stridsvagn 121), preceding the order of 120 improved Leopard 2A5 tanks. Ironically, the Germans themselves had chosen a worse configuration than the Swedes, making the Swedish order the most advanced series of Leopards at the time.
The first prototypes would be ready in 1995 and the whole batch would be delivered between 1996 and 2002. The first 29 vehicles were assembled in Germany while the rest was already built directly in Sweden.
The improvements compared to the German variant included primarily improved armor (which made the tank roughly 3 tons heavier) with different composition, making it more durable than the German original. Notably, the roof armor is thicker as well. Later upgrades would also add anti-mine and anti-IED protection. The original smoke grenade launchers were replaced by the French GALIX system. The tank also featured some Swedish-specific electronics and comms, a modified Fire Control Systems and several other smaller elements.
The tank officially entered service in 2007 and remains in service to this day. The original variant is now referred to Stridsvagn 122A. There’s also the Stridsvagn 122B variant with improved anti-IED protection, which was created as a response to the early 2000s War on Terror. Another sub-variant of Strv 122 was developed in 2005, featuring a new commander panoramic optic with a thermal imager. This fully stabilized optic is called PLSS and was developed by SAAB as a private venture. It was installed on an extendable mast for improved field of view. Between 1 and 4 prototypes were built but the upgrade never appeared in service.
However, a different, more comprehensive upgrade called Stridsvagn 123A is currently in progress. As you can likely guess from the different number, this is a major upgrade that includes the installation of the longer L/55 gun with cutting edge Fire Control System capable of handling programmable ammunition. This upgrade comes along with Stridsvagn 123B, which is the designation for newly ordered Leopard 2A8 tanks.
Of the original 120 tanks, 110 should undergo this overhaul with the other 10 having been donated to Ukraine in mid-2023. There, the tank was highly praised for its durability but given the limited amount of spare parts and the low number available, it was difficult to keep the vehicles running and by mid-2025, their deployment was considered to be over.
In Armored Warfare, the Stridsvagn 122 will be a Tier 8 Premium Main Battle Tank.
True to its origins, the Stridsvagn 122 will essentially be a better armored but a bit slower Leopard 2A5 (given its higher weight) with some other smaller differences that, however, do change its gameplay a bit compared to the original. These include:
- Thicker armor (especially lower frontal plate, bottom and roof), providing the tank with more durability against top-attack and FPV missiles
- Improved smoke grenades
- Programmable HE ammunition (in real life, Sweden bought a batch from Israel) that explodes above target
As you have also likely noticed, our Strv 122 features the PLSS optics, which can be extended when using the Active Sights ability, which trades higher viewrange for camouflage.
Otherwise, the performance will be similar to the (top) version of the Leopard 2A5 with slightly lower mobility due to its weight (62 tons).
We aren’t going to go deeper into its characteristics at this point – much like on the BKM-1, they are preliminary and should be considered work in progress.
And that’s it for today, commanders. Thank you for your attention and, as always:
See you on the battlefield!
