The name S-Tank is one of, if not the most common name for the strv 103 internationally. Contrary to popular belief, however, the S-prefix does not actually refer to Sweden, nor is the name English in origin, but actually a translation of the Swedish project name stridsvagn S.
Strv 103-0
During early development (ca 1958–1962) of what eventually would become the strv 103, the Swedish army projected three competing tank designs based on different principles:
- strv A (the A-tank) – Angloamerikansk utveckling (Anglo-American development): a heavily armoured, turreted MBT such as the M48 Patton and Centurion
- strv T (the T-tank) – Tysk/fransk utveckling (German-French development): a mobile, lightly armoured, turreted MBT such as the Leopard 1 and AMX-30
- strv S (the S-tank) – Speciell utveckling (Special development): a heavily armoured, turretless MBT as suggested by engineer Sven Berge in 1956
The project name stuck post-development and was used in advertising of the strv 103, essentially becoming the product's name (although its actual product name was Bofors VK 105 S 64).