British Army's Archer arsenal now complete with the arrival of 10 more howitzers

The British Army has now received all 14 of its Archer howitzer artillery systems after the final 10 arrived from Sweden.

Designed and built by BAE Systems Bofors, the Archers, will fill a gap in the Army's 155mm Close Support capability after the UK gave 32 AS90 self-propelled guns to the armed forces of Ukraine.

The UK struck an artillery deal with Sweden to acquire 14 Archers as an interim solution until the incoming Remote Controlled Howitzer arrives.

• The self-loading, rapid-fire Archer Artillery System's a game changer in battle
• UK buys Archer Artillery System from Sweden to replace kit sent to Ukraine
• UK and Sweden sign agreement on self-propelled Archer guns

'World-class capability in record time'

Defence Equipment & Support, the procurement arm of the MOD, said the 14 guns had been "rapidly delivered" to fulfil the Army's artillery capability.

Exercise Dynamic Front in November will see Archer live fire and put through its paces.

Colonel Stu Nassé, Assistant Head Military Capability Delivery in the Army HQ said: "This acceptance marks the completion of the initial acquisition of the 14 Archers and is a significant milestone. 

"The essential – but challenging – work to turn this into a full capability continues at pace with proactive collaboration between the Royal Artillery, Army HQ and DE&S.  Archer is an exciting project to be a part of and will deliver a world-class capability in record time." 

The Archer

The Archer Artillery System is in a class of its own with its ability to move and fire before an enemy can react.

Its simplicity and impressive rate of fire make it a formidable opponent in battle.

Armed with an automatic-loading 155mm gun, the system can be deployed, fire and move off at speed, making it difficult for enemy forces to detect its location after it fires.

With a range of 50km, when loaded with Excalibur-guided extended-range artillery projectiles, and the ability to fire three high-powered rounds within 40 seconds.

The Archer can demonstrate its effectiveness with its superior mobility, deployment speed, firepower and three-person crew protection – although it can be operated by one person if required.

During testing, the system could be made ready to fire within 14 seconds and fire its first round after 23 seconds.

Its range is also double that of the AS90.

Mark Bunyan, FIMS Team Leader at DE&S, said: "Striking the balance between power and mobility by featuring long-range precision, fast deployment time and a protected environment for the crew, the Archer provides the British Army with a highly capable artillery system to ensure we minimise any capability gap between gifting our AS90s and acquiring our long-term Boxer-based artillery solution."