BAE Systems Bofors announced during Eurosatory 2022 in Paris on 13-17 June that it has delivered the final batch of its 48 Archer wheeled self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to the Swedish armed forces, with plans in place to provide more.
Built on a Volvo A30D 6×6 all-terrain chassis, the 155mm SPH boasts a fully automatic loading system of 21 ready-to-fire munitions, with 20 additional shells carried in the vehicle.
Archer entered service with the Swedish Army in 2016.
The Swedish government has considered ordering an additional 24 systems since 2021, but Take noted that plans have accelerated amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Indeed, BAE Systems Bofors announced on 15 June that it has signed a Letter of Intent with the Swedish defence procurement agency FMV ‘as the first step in establishing an additional artillery battalion in line with the Swedish Total Defence Strategy 2021-2025’.