Stockholm announces a deal worth 20 billion Swedish kronor (about €1.74 billion) to buy 44 new Leopard 2A8 battle tanks, upgrading its existing fleet of 66 Leopard 2 tanks.
The deal is billed as Sweden’s biggest rearmament initiative since the early stages of the Cold War. It includes a massive investment in upgrading CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. The contract, worth just over SEK 5 billion (almost €40 million), is to materialise by 2030.
The historic acquisition involves 44 new Leopard tanks along with the modernisation of 66 older Leopard 2 tanks. It was brokered by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) with the German-French defence contractor KNDS.
The investment is to strengthen the Scandinavian country’s defence capabilities and help complete four brigades under construction, the FMV said in a statement. Two of the brigades are expected to be operational by 2028 and the other two by 2030.
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Supporting Kyiv, boosting Stockholm
Forty-four new Leopard 2A8s will be given the Swedish designation Stridsvagn 123B. Sweden’s 66 existing Stridsvagn 122 tanks (equivalent to Leopard 2A5) will be styled as Stridsvagn 123A vehicles after the upgrade.
“Combined with the additional 44 tanks already undergoing modernisation, we receive 154 modern tanks and refurbished combat vehicles with these orders, which strengthens our defence capability,” said Defence Minister Pål Jonson.
The deal boosts the strength of the Swedish tank force even after the donation of ten Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The tanks are currently manned by Ukrainian crews trained in Sweden; the effort demonstrates Stockholm’s commitment to supporting Ukraine while maintaining its own combat readiness.
The two contracts are worth nearly SEK 20 billion (about €1.74billion) between them. The upgraded tanks are to be delivered between 2027 and 2030 by the contractor, KNDS Deutschland (formerly Krauss-Maffei Wegmann). The delivery of the 44 newly manufactured tanks is to be completed between 2028 and 2031.
As good as new
The plan accelerates Sweden’s military modernisation efforts. The Stridsvagen 122 were orginally expected to remain in service until at least 2030. “Stridsvagn 123A and 123B will belong among the world’s most advanced tanks. Compared to Stridsvagn 122, they are basically completely new tanks, even though they may look similar on the outside,” said FMV head Göran Mårtensson.
The Leopard 2A5, introduced in the mid-1990s, is equipped with a 120mm/L44 smoothbore gun. More recent versions, including the Leopard 2A8, feature a 120mm/L55 gun with a longer barrel. The Leopard 2A5 differs from earlier models primarily by additional angled, arrow-shaped turret armour.
Overall, the Leopard 2A8 is similar in many ways to the Leopard 2A7V, in service since 2014. It is equipped with an air conditioning system, advanced optronics and programmable ammunition. While the Leopard 2A8 retains the same engine, transmission, and main gun as the Leopard 2A7V, it features additional defensive measures, including the latest version of the Israeli-made Rafael Trophy active standoff protection system.
Sweden has also decided to modernize its fleet of Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) tracked armored fighting vehicles. Around 500 vehicles in the CV90 family are currently in Swedish service.
Focus on commonality
This ambitious rearmament initiative is part of the largest modernisation of the Swedish defence force since the 1950s. The deteriorating security situation in Europe, exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine, has highlighted the urgency of such investments.
The choice of the Leopard 2A8 provides commonality not only with Lithuania and Norway, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, and Czechia, who have also ordered it. Driven by new NATO memberships for Finland and Sweden, the value of commonality across weapons systems in the Nordic countries and brings land warfare operations in the Baltic region into a fresh focus.
The upgrades signal a commitment to national security and alliance interoperability. The modernised armoured fleet will strengthen Sweden’s readiness to meet future challenges while contributing to regional stability.
