Sweden, Norway to Cooperate on Archer Artillery Project
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BAE Systems Bofors’ Archer is a light, air-portable, and highly automated 155/52 light mobile artillery system that can hit targets with great accuracy at ranges up to 50km/ 30 miles. Automation ensures that the crew can fire the gun within 30 seconds of arriving in position, and without leaving the cabin. Archer belongs in the same class as Nexter’s Caesar (France), Denel’s G6 (South Africa), and Soltam’s Atmos-2000 and Rascal (Israel).
To this point, Archer has been a Swedish project, administered by their FMV procurement agency. Funding has been provided for system development and some initial production, but the project’s future has been shadowed by anemic Swedish defense budgets. In May 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Norway’s FLO procurement agency. Now, it has evolved into joint development of the Archer artillery system, and an initial contract…
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Archer is designed to fire the Excalibur GPS-guided shell, as well as Bofors and Nexter’s BONUS anti-tank submunitions. Under the Swedish-Norwegian co-development agreement, it will also use Kongsberg’s popular M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon/ surveillance turret for close-in self defense.
System Design and Development is scheduled to continue until 2009-2010, with a final prototype to be delivered in September 2009 and a 2nd prototype before year’s end. At that point, the Swedish and Norwegian governments will have an option to buy up to 24 Archers each at a pre-set price. Initial delivery plans of autumn 2011 appear to have been moved forward, and 2011 now marks expected delivery of all systems under this initial production option.
Contracts and Key Events
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Aug 24/09: The Swedish government gives the green light to an initial order for 24 Archer artillery pieces. They will join Norway’s planned purchase of 24 Archer systems, which was approved by the Norwegian Stortinget shortly before mid-summer 2009. defpro.
June 7-15/09: Sweden’s FMV procurement agency confirms that the first Archer prototype rolled out from Bofors this week, adding:
“Project Archer has previously had two experimental pieces which, for an untrained eye, might look like prototypes. The experimental pieces aim was to test and develop the idea of a wheeled autonomous artillery system and test the new technology in different environments and contexts and in particular to develop methods for the use of artillery. The result of testing and development is now in a final phase…. Then there are still some developments, there will be some differences on the prototype one and two. The cab of the prototype which has not, for example, the same protection as the cab at the prototype two and on the next series of products.”
Archer P1 has the Swedish configuration and Archer P2 will be the Norwegian configuration. The 2 prototypes will be verified and completed in spring 2010, with the first production delivery to Sweden and Norway scheduled to begin in 2011.
Jan 15/09: BAE Systems announces a $70 million contract to finalize the development of the Archer artillery system for the Swedish and Norwegian armed forces. This order consists of final development of the self propelled gun, development of ammunition handling system and modular charges.
Construction of a final prototype gun is expected to be complete by September 2009. As part of the contract, both governments hold an option to purchase 24 Archer systems each (total: 48), that can be exercised by September 2009.
Nov 4/08: The Swedish FMV defense procurement agency announces that intensified cooperation agreements were signed at the end of October 2008 by FMV’s Hakan Espmark and the FLO’s Asle Kjelsberg. Additional joint agreements are in the pipeline for 2009: one for Archer procurement, one regarding a joint control and management system for indirect fire, one for joint maintenance approaches, and one in the field of artillery ammunition.
FMV and FLO will begin joint negotiations with BAE Systems Bofors on the assignment to complete development and delivery.
