Sweden has joined Denmark and Latvia in ordering the Skorpion 2 rapid mine laying system. NATO’s eastern flank must prepare for a Russian mechanised assault designed to advance quickly, complicating the Alliance’s response. Anti-tank mines and rapid deployment systems could buy time, and save the eastern flank from being overwhelmed.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on June 22, 2026.
Sweden has announced its procurement of the Skorpion 2 mine scattering system from Dynamit Nobel. With a total value of SEK4 billion (£315.33 million/$420.00 million), the FMV has drawn down an initial order for SEK 900 million (£70.95 million/$94.50 million. The overall agreement will last until 2033, and includes vehicles as well as mines, the FMV states in its June 17 press release.
With this procurement, Sweden joins Latvia and Denmark in operating the Skorpion 2, but they are not the only eastern flank countries to add anti-tank mines to their defence. Lithuania has procured the Sentry anti-tank mines from Forcit Defence and signed an agreement with Estonia to cooperate on counter-mobility measures along their border with Russia.
All of these states either share a border with Russia, or – in the case of Sweden and Denmark – are planning to fight forward-deployed into the Baltics. In any scenario where Russia attempts a large-scale incursion into NATO territory, mine-laying would become an important capability as far as buying time is concerned.
Russian strategy and the importance of mines
The remains of a Russian tank destroyed in Ukraine. Mines play an important role in restricting movement on both sides. Credit: Ukrainian MoD.
Russia has a range of strategic options when it comes to coercion of NATO and Europe. However, since the 1950s, Russian commanders have tended to favour large, ambitious advances designed to achieve their war aims early with maximum surprise as an initial strategy. This worked on a few occasions, including Hungary in 1956 and Georgia in 2008, but it also failed in Afghanistan in 1979, Chechnya in 1994, and of course Ukraine in 2022.
However, when it has failed, Russia tends to double down and commit to a longer fight, pouring resources and men after a goal that seemingly far outweighs the cost. It follows that Russia may choose a significant mechanised advance designed to achieve a specific goal and overwhelm NATO forces in the Baltics. There is open debate over whether or not this is the strategy that Russia would choose. But the fact remains that if it did choose an advance, mine-laying would be a very valuable part of NATO’s response.
Mines buy time. Even if they are detected, an adversary must either find a route around them or carve a path through them. This provides the defender with time to develop a plan and move forces around.
Over and above creating obstacles, mines also cause casualties, disabling vehicles that can then be destroyed at a later date. In other scenarios, they might be combined with artillery and air power to constrain a force’s movement and inflict heavy losses. All of these use cases have been demonstrated by both sides in Ukraine, showing how anti-tank mines can shape the outcome of a battle.
So, with that in mind, the growing user group of the Skorpion 2 mine laying system on NATO’s eastern flank stands as something to be welcomed. It could help delay a Russian advance and give time for the forces in the Baltics to coordinate a more effective response.
Calibre comment: Skorpion 2 and AT2+– a modern anti-tank mining system
A close-up of an AT2+ anti-tank mine as used by the Skorpion 2 system. Credit: Calibre Defence.
Skorpion 2 is a modern mine-laying system with the ability to lay up to 400 AT2+ anti-tank mines in ten minutes. The size of that belt is decided by the user, employing the computer-controlled scattering system. This means that the Skorpion 2 does not lay a rigid, single-depth mine belt. Instead, the depth and density of the minefield are dynamically programmed by the operator to fit the tactical situation. That said, a single vehicle could lay a mine belt that is between 1.5 and 2 km long, and around 50 metres deep.
The mines used are the AT2+, which has a self-righting mechanism, used in case the mines land the wrong way up. And a self-destruct fuze that activates after user-specified period of time. Its shaped charge warhead is fitted with an intelligent fuze designed to detect when a vehicle is overhead. The AT2+ can penetrate around 140 mm of rolled homogeneous armour, which should be more than enough for most tanks and vehicles. As it used a shaped charge, which generates a large slug as opposed to a small, thin jet, it is likely to be very lethal to the vehicle crew if detonated underneath a crew position.
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The lead image shows the Skorpion 2 mine laying system. Credit: Dynamit Nobel Defence.