On 31 August 2022, Sweden’s foreign minister Ann Linde announced Sweden was evaluating sending Archer Artillery System self-propelled howitzers, RBS70 man-portable air defense missile systems, and other military equipment to Ukraine. to Ukraine. On 25 October 2022 the analysis by the Swedish Ministry Of Defense was complete, concluding that Sweden could spare 12 Archer systems. The Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that that the Swedish Ministry Of Defense has submitted a report to the government that they could provide 12 of their 48 Archer 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
The Archer Artillery System, or Archer – FH77BW L52, or Artillerisystem 08 is a self-propelled gun system for Sweden and Norway. The heart of the system is a fully automated 155 mm/L52 gun howitzer and a M151 Protector remote controlled weapon station mounted on a modified 6×6 chassis of the Volvo A30D, all-terrain articulated hauler. Operators control the entire gun system in any weather from the safety of the armored vehicle cabin which is fitted with bullet and fragmentation-proof windows. The cabin seats up to four personnel. The howitzer is operated by three or four crew but can be run by a single operator. The system also includes a munition carrier consisting of a removable, modified standard container mounted on a ballistic-proofed all-terrain lorry.
The vehicle can reach road-speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), is capable of traversing snow up to a depth of one metre (3.3 ft), is rail transportable and can be air-transported in C-17 or A400M aircraft. A large hydraulically operated stabilizer is installed in the rear of the chassis and is lowered with the vehicle in the selected firing position. The initial deployment time and the redeployment times less than 30 seconds. The system provides precision strike and high sustained firepower for support and for deep firing operations with more than 25 t of ammunition per gun and 24-hour operation. The howitzer has a continuous fire rate of 75 rounds per hour, an intensive fire rate of 20 rounds in 2.5 minutes, and a salvo fire rate of three rounds in 15 seconds. Direct-sighting can be used for target ranges up to 2,000 metres (2,200 yd).
The vehicle carries 21 155mm projectiles in the fully automatic magazine. Reloading the magazine from the accompanying munitions carrier takes about 10 minutes using the purpose-built lifting device. The howitzer can use NATO modular charges or Bofors Uniflex 2 modular charges. The Uniflex 2IM modular charge system consists of two sizes of combustible charge cases; one full-size and one half-size case, both filled with the same type of insensitive guanylurea dinitramide (GuDN) propellant. The modular charge system allows several increments of charge to be available and increases the gun system’s multiple rounds simultaneous impact (MRSI) capability and good range overlap between the increments. With BAE Bofors/Nexter Bonus rounds the range is 35 kilometres (22 mi). The range of the gun is extended to 60 kilometres (37 mi) with the precision-guided Raytheon/Bofors M982 Excalibur round.
