Sweden Seeks New Artillery as South Korea’s K9 Leads Tracked Howitzer Options.

Sweden is examining South Korea’s K9 Thunder tracked 155 mm self-propelled howitzer to complement its wheeled Archer artillery fleet, with planning documents indicating a requirement of nearly 40 vehicles. The move reflects lessons from the NATO era in Ukraine and growing concern that wheeled artillery alone cannot survive or maneuver effectively in deep snow, frozen bogs, and drone-contested northern terrain.

Sweden is quietly weighing a major shift in its artillery posture as it evaluates South Korea’s K9 Thunder tracked howitzer to operate alongside the Army’s Archer systems, according to Swedish media. Planning documents point to roughly two battalion sets, or close to 40 vehicles, driven by a blunt operational assessment that wheeled guns struggle to survive once deep snow and frozen wetlands turn mobility into the defining factor for artillery units operating toward northern Finland.
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K9 Thunder is a 155 mm tracked howitzer built for fast shoot-and-scoot fires, with rapid bursts, MRSI salvos, and strong winter mobility (Picture source: Army Recognition Group).

Sweden’s renewed artillery urgency sits inside its post-NATO reality and the hard lessons of Ukraine: counterbattery duels are decided by who can fire first, displace fast, and keep ammunition flowing under drone observation. In reporting cited by Swedish media, Army leadership has warned that the terrain in the north compresses maneuver into predictable corridors, with a sparse road network shaping how and where forces can move. In that context, a wheeled howitzer that must queue on a road is not just delayed; it is targetable. Tracked guns promise dispersion across snow-covered forests, frozen wetlands, and cutlines, enabling batteries to occupy unexpected firing points and complicating enemy sensor-to-shooter chains.

The entire Archer 6x6 inventory of 24 systems has been upgraded to the Version C standard, providing operational capability for at least two artillery battalions, and the Army has also begun firing the new Archer 8x8 configuration at Boden. Archer remains a formidable shooter, offering firing ranges in excess of 50 km with advanced ammunition, a rate of fire up to nine rounds per minute, and multiple rounds simultaneous impact effects that allow several shells to arrive on the target at the same time. However, Sweden has also transferred Archer systems out of storage for allied support, including units authorized for Ukraine and systems sold to the United Kingdom, moves that sharpen the need to broaden and deepen the home force artillery mix. Ammunition supply is being reinforced in parallel through contracts for 155 mm shells, propellant charges, and extended-range high-explosive projectiles.

The K9’s appeal is that it is built around the exact problem Sweden is describing. The system weighs roughly 47 tonnes and is powered by a 1,000-horsepower diesel engine, giving it road speeds of around 67 km per hour and an operating range approaching 480 km. Its 155 mm main armament can reach beyond 40 km depending on ammunition type. The howitzer can fire three rounds in 15 seconds and eight rounds in a minute, with the ability to deliver MRSI salvos, while transitioning from movement to firing in under a minute. In operational terms, this enables classic shoot and scoot tactics with minimal exposure time, as well as rapid suppression missions and counterbattery engagements tightly integrated with drones, sensors, and digital fire control networks. Any Swedish purchase would also include tracked ammunition resupply vehicles, underlining that a tracked howitzer program is a full battery system decision rather than a standalone gun acquisition.

Sweden’s interest becomes clearer when set against Western competitors. Germany’s PzH-2000 remains a performance benchmark with its 155 mm L52 gun, very high burst and sustained rates of fire, and a large onboard ammunition load, but it comes with greater weight and a demanding sustainment footprint. KNDS’s RCH 155 emphasizes automation and modern L52 ballistics, yet Sweden’s near-term focus is proven winter mobility rather than leap-ahead concepts. Wheeled systems such as CAESAR and Archer trade armor and off-road access for road speed and strategic deployability, while the modernized U.S. M109A7 offers improved protection and integration but generally lower rates of fire than the newest L52 class howitzers. The K9, by contrast, is already fielded by Finland and Norway, making it the de facto Nordic tracked artillery standard and offering clear advantages in training, logistics, and regional interoperability. That ecosystem, combined with delivery timelines and cold weather credibility, explains why Swedish Army leadership has publicly indicated that if Sweden buys tracked artillery, the K9 sits at the top of the list.