The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has awarded the BAE Systems a contract to supply additional ARCHER artillery systems.
According to a press release from BAE Systems, the company has won a contract valued approximately $500 million to build a batch of 48 ARCHER artilerry systems for the Swedish Army.
The ARCHER mobile artillery system, designed and produced by BAE Systems Bofors in Sweden, is already in service in the Swedish Army and has achieved the highest technical and manufacturing readiness levels. The 48 new systems covered by this contract will be built on a Rheinmetall MAN military vehicle, RMMV HX2 8×8, and first delivery to the Swedish Army will be in 2025.
“This important milestone establishes ARCHER as the basis of the Swedish Army’s new divisional artillery forces,” said Lena Gillström, president of BAE Systems Bofors. “It is also critical to BAE Systems Bofors’ work in jointly developing the ARCHER with Sweden, to confirm it as the most advanced wheeled 155mm howitzer in operation today.”
ARCHER can fire the BONUS anti-armor munition up to 35km, conventional munitions up to 40km, and the precision-guided munition Excalibur in excess of 50km. The automated magazines can hold a mix of different ammunition types and modular charges needed to support any mission.
In addition to the Swedish Army, the United Kingdom has selected the ARCHER for its interim artillery requirement. Sweden has also donated ARCHER to Ukraine, and the system has been down-selected in Switzerland’s procurement of new artillery.