Sweden considering to send Stridsvagn 122 tanks to Ukraine
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WORLD  27 January 2023 - 03:04

Sweden has not yet started to prepare the tanks, so it will take a while to deliver them even when the decision is made.

Soon after first reports of Germany's decision to supply its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the Minister of Defense of Sweden states that the supply of Swedish Stridsvagn 122 tanks is not ruled out as well, Defense Express reports via SVT reports with reference to Svenska Dagbladet.

"Currently, preparations are not being made for a donation of tanks from Sweden, but it is not excluded that this could happen at a later stage," the Swedish defense minister said in a written comment to the newspaper.

As noted, Sweden has "around 120 Stridsvagn 122 tanks" in service. the same quantity we can also see in The Military Balance handbook. The Stridsvagn 122 (Strv 122) tank is basically a Leopard 2A4 tank that was domestically modernized to the Leopard 2A5 level, which we have already covered in a separate article.

It should be noted, that if the decision on supplying the Swedish tanks is made, it will likely be agreed with Finland. Earlier on January 20th, the two countries signed a joint letter of intent that underlined the cooperation between Sweden and Finland when it comes to supporting Ukraine.

"Finland and Sweden have decided to act together, in the framework of our bilateral defense cooperation, to increase our support to the just cause of Ukraine ... Sweden is prepared to act jointly with Finland if so agreed," reads the document.

Finland has already pledged it would send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as soon as Germany approves, and the latter has already happened. The 120 mm ammunition for Swedish Strv 122 tanks is also produced in Finland as part of a joint agreement from March 2022.

Although Sweden's hesitance to provide its own tanks immediately is reasonable, too. Sweden has just agreed a major military aid package for Ukraine including state-of-art Archer howitzers and CV90 combat vehicles.

Caliber.Az