The Absolutely Massive Tank that Russia Really Hates

With Russia becoming a highly dangerous threat once again, the Scandinavian nations have been forced to take a look into their military blindspots. As Sweden considers joining NATO, its military has scaled up its training on the remarkable Stridsvagn 122, recruiting new conscripted troops to handle the enviable armored vehicles. Born from the legendary German Leopard 2, the Swedish tank stemmed from the legacy of World War 2 and the knowledge gained in the Cold War. But when it entered service in the 1990s, the world had found a renewed peace - however brief. In 2005, the Swedish military withdrew its forces from a crucial perch in the Baltic’s center, the island of Gotland. Sweden has been waiting a long time to return to the windswept island, but as unit commander Karl Engelbrektson put it: (QUOTE) “Disbanding large parts of the armed forces, in the peace euphoria of that time, may have made sense to a lot of people. History proves that this was a mistake.“