As a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sweden decided to donate defence equipment to Ukraine earlier this year, including the state-of-the-art Archer artillery system. Just over eight months later, the Archers are on location in Ukraine and the crews have received training in Sweden. During the training, there have also been challenges regarding educational methodology and procedures. The training effort has now been concluded and Colonel Stephan Sjöberg is careful to thank all the staff who worked on this mission. Artillery Inspector and commanding officer of the Boden Artillery Regiment (A 8), Colonel Stephan Sjöberg, recently informed the A 8 personnel about the confirmed Archer deliveries and the preceding training mission. The training phase of the Ukrainian artillery crews has been fast-paced. David is one of several instructors who have trained the Ukrainians on the system that is now on site in the country.
“I understand that what you have done during this extremely intense period has “challenged your hearts and minds”. The war that our friends are fighting in Ukraine is justified, and I know that you understand the significance of integrity entailed in the task itself. And at the same time, I am aware of the challenges you have experienced as you have likely developed friendships during this intense training period”, Colonel Sjöberg says.
The students demonstrated a good capability to take on the advanced Archer system training, despite the language barrier. What stood out most was their willingness to learn, to master the system. The majority of those we have trained are used to older Soviet artillery systems, which, in combination with a sudden move to significantly more advanced technology, has posed a challenge It has been stressful for both instructors and students. However, my conclusion is that the Swedish training methodology works well. I want to thank you all as a colleague and as your commanding officer for all that you have achieved. I am especially happy to see that the training was carried out jointly by the army. Your contribution is of great importance to our friends in Ukraine,” says David.
The Archer Artillery System, or Archer – FH77BW L52, or Artillerisystem 08, is a Swedish self-propelled howitzer system. The main piece of the system is a fully automated 155 mm L52 (52-calibre-long) 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. The crew and engine compartment is armoured and the cab is fitted with bullet and fragmentation-resistant windows. The system also includes an ammunition resupply vehicle, a support vehicle, BONUS submunitions and M982 Excalibur guided projectiles. Well designed for counter battery strike purposes, the long range and the ability to fire three shells and depart the location before the first shell lands enables the crew to perform with low risk of detection.
The Swedish Army ordered 24 Archer systems in 2009. An additional order for the 24 systems originally bought by Norway was placed in 2016. BAE Systems Bofors delivered 48 Archer to the Royal Swedish Artillery Regiment (9th Artillery regiment) between 2013 and 2022. The Swedish Army received its first four pre-serial production FH-77 BW L52 Archer systems on 23 September 2013, and the first guns finally entered service on 1 February 2016. On the 16th of March 2023, the Swedish Government announced that 24 of the systems were in service and 24 were in storage. Among those formerly stored systems, 14 are to be sold and transferred to the British Army in March 2023 and 8 will be sent to Ukraine due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The delivery was reported later in November. The remaining 2 units will be used by the Swedish army to further develop the Archer artillery system.
