Breaking news
Archer 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer enters officially on duty with the Swedish army 11102163.
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Defence & Security News - Sweden
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| Archer 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer enters officially on duty with the Swedish army. | |||
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The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has announced on February 3, 2016, that the first four Archer 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer entered officially in service with the Swedish armed Forces. The first howitzer are now on duty at the Swedish Army's 9 Artillery Regiment , based at Boden in northern Sweden.
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 First operational firing of Archer 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer of Swedish army at Boden firing range in northern Sweden. (Picture from http://www.ointres.se) |
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A total 24 vehicles will be delivered to the Swedish army, the delivery of the remaining 20 Archers to the artillery battalions will continue in 2016 and will be completed in 2017.
BAE received a $200m contract in 2010 to supply of a total of 48 artillery systems, including 24 each for the Swedish and Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as associated ammunition handling systems. In 2013, Norway has decided to terminate the contract due to delivery problem. In September 2015, BAE Systems Bofors delivered the first pieces of the Archer artillery system to FMV. The acquisition of Archer is a joint Nordic project in collaboration with Norway and a total of 24 pieces was commissioned for the Swedish Armed Forces from BAE Systems Bofors. The Archer is a wheeled self-propelled howitzer 155mm designed and manufactured jointly by the Company Bofors and BAE Systems. The first driving and firing rig was completed late in 1995 and, following company trials, was delivered to the Swedish Army for six months of troop trials. The Archer main weapon is the 155mm 52-calibre gun using the proven design of the cradle and recoil system from the current generation FH 77B towed field howitzer. This is an improved version of the earlier Field Howitzer 77B. The main differences between these are their fully-automatic solutions for handling ammunition, along with a new elongated barrel. Each gun system will be staffed by 3-4 operators, which is a major improvement from its forerunner that was manned by a crew consisting of 10-12 operators. The Archer is 155mm self-propelled howitzer configured to NATO standard, this which means an increase of the Swedish Armed Forces' interoperability with other countries' armed forces and their equipment. This is a key improvement since contemporary military missions are often multilateral. |
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 (Picture from http://www.ointres.se) |
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