Archer

The Archer, designated FH77 BW L52 and known in Swedish service as Artillerisystem 08, is a self-propelled howitzer developed by Bofors (later BAE Systems Bofors) for the Swedish Armed Forces. Work began in 1995 with studies for a self-propelled derivative of the towed FH77, progressing through the FH77 BD and FH77 BW test articles. FMV, the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, contracted Bofors in 2003 for two demonstrators, which conducted firing trials in 2005 and 2006. A detailed design contract followed in September 2006, and Sweden and Norway signed a cooperative development agreement in November 2008, each intending to procure 24 systems. Serial production was contracted in March 2010. Technical problems delayed entry into service from 2011 to 2013; Norway withdrew in December 2013 and later selected the K9 Thunder. The first four pre-series systems were handed over on 23 September 2013, with the type entering Swedish service on 1 February 2016.

The original variant mounts a fully automated 155 mm L52 gun-howitzer on a modified Volvo A30D 6×6 articulated hauler chassis. The crew and engine compartments are armoured and the cab has bullet- and fragmentation-resistant windows; up to four personnel are seated, though the gun can be run by a single operator from within the cab. An M151 Protector remote weapon station from Kongsberg provides self-defence. A hydraulic stabiliser at the rear of the chassis is lowered for firing. Elevation is −1° to +70° and traverse −85° to +85°, with direct sighting out to 2,000 m. Emplacement and displacement each take under 30 seconds.

The automatic magazine holds 21 projectiles, reloaded from an accompanying munitions carrier in about ten minutes. NATO modular charges or Bofors Uniflex 2 charges using GuDN insensitive propellant may be fired, supporting multiple rounds simultaneous impact engagements of up to six rounds. Sustained rate is 75 rounds per hour, with a full magazine firable in 2.5 minutes and a three-round salvo in 15 seconds. BONUS anti-armour submunition rounds reach 35 km and M982 Excalibur GPS-guided projectiles exceed 50 km. The system is rail transportable and air-portable by C-17 and A400M.

A second configuration mounting the howitzer on an RMMV HX2 8×8 truck was revealed in 2019, with trials beginning in 2020. Sweden ordered 48 in September 2023; the first were delivered to FMV on 21 April 2026 and to the Swedish Army on 26 August 2026. Swedish A30D-based guns have been upgraded to C-standard, incorporating a new command system and improved reliability.

Sweden authorised the sale of 14 systems to the British Army in March 2023 as an interim replacement for AS-90s gifted to Ukraine, completed by July 2024, and donated eight to Ukraine, delivered by November 2023, with further systems pledged in 2025. Latvia ordered HX2-based Archers in June 2025.

In Ukrainian service with the 45th Artillery Brigade, Archers conducted counter-battery fire in the Luhansk region, destroying three D-20 howitzers near Kreminna in March 2024 and a 2S19 Msta-S near Chervonopopivka in May 2024. One Archer was struck by a Russian loitering munition near Kupiansk in February 2024. In 2025 the Swedish Army reported limitations in subarctic terrain with deep snow and sparse roads, prompting plans for two K9 Thunder battalions to complement the wheeled Archer.