Sweden has signed an agreement with the German-French arms consortium KNDS for the production of more than 40 Leopard 2 tanks, with the deal valued at nearly €2 billion, the Swedish Ministry of Defense announced.
The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) finalized a contract with KNDS for the manufacturing of 44 Leopard 2 A8 tanks. The total cost of the deal amounts to 20 billion Swedish kronor, equivalent to over €1.7 billion.
The announcement was made by Defense Minister Pål Jonson during a visit to a military unit on the strategic island of Gotland. According to Jonson, the investment is a key step in Sweden’s plans to expand its army to four brigades.
“With this contract, we will have a stronger army, robust brigades, and improved readiness to confront a serious adversary. It is clear that improving our defense capabilities should have started earlier, but we are now on the right track and moving forward decisively. This is a step towards building a stronger ‘total defense,'” Jonson emphasized.
