British troops fire their new Archer howitzers for the first time

GlobalData ^ | Feb 19, 2024 | John Hill

[where's_the_Outrage?]

During a 14-week ‘train the trainer’ course taught at a frozen military base in Boden, Swedish Lapland, the Swedish School of Artillery instructed British gunners from Larkhill, Wiltshire, on how to fire the Swedish-made Archer howitzer systems.

Defence Equipment and Support – the UK Ministry of Defence’s procurement arm – acquired 14 Archer systems from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration for the Royal Artillery, whose 32 AS90 Braveheart howitzers were donated to Ukraine prior to the new acquisition.

In October 2023, the first of Britain’s Archer systems had arrived in the UK just six months after the Government signed the contract for the systems.

The Archer FH77 BW L52 is a 155-millimetre (mm) self-propelled howitzer manufactured by BAE Systems Bofors in Karlskoga, Sweden. It is fully autonomous and can be used in traditional warfare fire support, as well as modern international peacekeeping and peace enforcement missions.

It has a 40-kilometre (km) range using current standard ammunition, and a 60km range with the M982 Excalibur rounds (an extended-range guided artillery shell). The howitzer can also fire the Bonus top attack rounds developed by Bofors and Giat (now Nexter).

Its 52 calibre gun uses the proven design of the cradle and recoil system from the current generation FH 77B towed field howitzer. Being equipped with a target acquisition or designation sight feature, the gun has a direct fire capability.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

It has a 40-kilometre (km) range using current standard ammunition, and a 60km range with the M982 Excalibur rounds

Wow, 40KM range, I remember working with the pigs (M114 155 mm howitzer) that has almost a 15km range.

[Darksheare]

I miss the M119A1 I was a crewman on back in the late 90’s.

[V_TWIN]

Archer FH77 BW L52 is a 155-millimetre (mm) self-propelled howitzer

[Reverend Wright]

That thing is fine on dry terrain.

But the weather in Eastern Europe in the Fall, Winter and Spring suggests to me that tracked is the way to go.

[Rockingham]

Towed artillery is not generally survivable these days against technological peers due to the development and proliferation of drones and counter-battery radars. Shoot and scoot tactics are a necessity, so having even heavy guns mounted on a wheeled truck is now a requirement for most new artillery procurement.

[Blennos]

And the extended range ammo travels up to 60 km. That’s over 37 miles. I wonder what the max height of the trajectory parabola would be for this type.

[Darksheare]

Sadly.
We’d done workups on having helicopters fly our equipment sling loaded to a location, setup somewhere else after drop off, fire, then scoot.
How practical it would have been, meh.
Not for me to say but it was an idea in the 90’s.
We did find a need for 105mm howitzers in Afghanistan, this immediately after the push to drop the M119 system in favor of the m777 or paladins.
I was out by then.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

“We did find a need for 105mm howitzers in Afghanistan”

A Vietnam Vet buddy of mine said the troops preferred support from the 105’s as 5 RPM support when in contact was better than 1-2 RPM from the bigger guns (155/8 IN/ 175).

[jneesy]

thats a volvo haul truck chassis it will do ok off road its a proven design thats been in construction use for years