Sweden buys more Archer truck-mounted artillery to strengthen the defense
EUROSATORY 2022: Sweden has signed a contract with BAE Systems Bofors for an additional 24 Archer truck-mounted howitzer systems to equip the additional artillery battalion to be set up in line with the Swedish total defense strategy 2021-25.
Mikael Frisell, head of the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration FMV, and Lena Gillström, CEO, BAE Systems Bofors, signed the Letter of Intent here at the Eurosatory trade fair in Paris. “We look forward to being part of the development of increased artillery capacity for the nation,” Gillström said at the signing on June 15.
The procurement is “part of the commitment to improved artillery capacity”, says Mikael Take, Bofors’ program manager, to Breaking Defense and adds that in Sweden “there is a significant concern about what is happening in Ukraine.”
Sweden has already canceled 48 of the systems since the first was delivered in September 2015. Each is mounted on a Volvo A30 6 × 6 articulated dumper “selected at that time for its off-road capacity”, Take explained. However, the next 24 will be mounted on a Rheinmetall MAN Military (RMMV) HX2 8 × 8 chassis “which is a faster vehicle for road mobility”, said Take. The vehicle has a top speed of 56 mph and a cruising range of 500 miles.
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The truck’s air-conditioned cab is lightly armored, which provides ballistic protection against fragments, bullets and armor mines, but is built so that extra armor sets can be screwed on for additional protection. The cabin is overpressured to provide CBRN protection. Other fleets within the Swedish Armed Forces also operate RMMV, so the choice simplifies repairs and maintenance. But Bofors emphasizes that other nations can choose a different carrier for the howitzers.
Archer fully automatic 155 mm 52-caliber can fire eight shots per minute and is usually operated by a crew of three people (including the driver) who never have to leave the cabin. But if necessary, it can be driven by a single driver. One of the drivers at the fair told Breaking Defense that it could start firing “20 seconds from the time I hit the brakes and in less than two minutes it could have fired all 21 shots and be gone long before any enemy post could reach us.”
The system can be accompanied by all types of container-carrying support vehicles that would carry a modified standard ISO container housing up to 100 cartridges. Archer can be reloaded in five minutes.
Haubitsen has a range of more than 31 miles with conventional artillery rounds and 37 miles with precision-guided ammunition including Excalibur. It has a traverse capacity from + 85 ° to -85 °, the company says.
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The automatic loading mechanism was inspired by Bofors’ naval cannon division, which had developed a modified F77 artillery system for Sweden’s naval defense that contained such a system, the company said. Take explaining on Bofors website that “the big step was to introduce a magazine that could handle projectiles and charges automatically.” He adds that “we could take all the calculations that are normally performed remotely and manually at a fire control center and put them in the gun. Suddenly, the gun could work more or less by itself.”
Earlier this month, Archer was nominated by the Swiss government to enter the final round of competition for its future artillery system. The Swiss Federal Office for Defense Procurement, Armasuisse, received several proposals from several companies for the competition. Armasuisse’s communications director told Breaking Defense in a telephone interview that two other companies that manufacture artillery systems with wheels had been selected, but their names would not be published until the beginning of next week.
Archer is a strong challenger for Britain Mobile fires Platform programs that are currently in the pre-competition stages with a contract scheduled to be announced in 2026 for initial operation in 2029. It also participated in the U.S. Army’s Mobile Howitzer trial and shooting held last fall.