ARCHER artillery system

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FH-77BW L52 Archer
Archer i Eldställning.jpg

Template: Infobox AFV / maintenance / picture without description

General properties
crew 2 (commander, driver) - 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader)
length 14.3 m
width 3.0 m
height 3.3-3.9 m
Dimensions 33.5 t
Armament
Main armament 155 mm howitzer L / 52
Secondary armament Remote controlled weapon station with 12.7 mm machine gun
Protection systems
Armor mm
Mine protection strength Protection against 6 kg mines (Level 2 STANAG 4569)
agility
drive Diesel engine
252 kW (340 PS)
Top speed 70 km / h
Power / weight PS / t
Range 400-500 km

The ARCHER artillery system is a Swedish self-propelled gun with an artillery gun in caliber 155 mm. Another name is FH-77BW L52 Archer .

development

The ARCHER artillery system was created based on a request from the Swedish and Norwegian armed forces. Both states intended to procure 24 self-propelled artillery guns each. In 2002 the company Bofors (today BAE Systems ) presented the first technology demonstrator. In 2013 the first systems for field tests were delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces . In the same year Norway withdrew from the project for financial reasons. The definitive introduction to the Swedish Army took place at the beginning of 2016. There it is called Artillerisystem 08 .

variants

  • Archer: 1st production version installed on a Volvo A30D 6 × 6 truck for the Swedish Army .
  • Archer Modular: Export version installed on a Rheinmetall -Truck RMMV HX2 8 × 8 . Introduced in 2020.

technology

The ARCHER artillery system consists roughly of a 155 mm howitzer installed on a truck with an automatic loading system. All systems for autonomous use or use in a network are housed in the vehicle. The Archer system is air-loadable in an Airbus A400M .

vehicle

The chassis of the artillery system ARCHER based on the Volvo A30D 6 × 6 joint - heavy vehicles . The engine with the cab is located at the front of the vehicle . An air-cooled diesel engine with an output of 252 kW (340 hp) is used as the motor . The truck has a tire pressure control system and the driver's cab has NBC protection . The driver's cab is also protected against anti- tank mines , shrapnel, handguns, high-frequency microwaves and energy weapons . The driver's cab offers space for the driver and the three-man gun operator. All systems for operating the howitzer and the automatic loading system are housed in the driver's cab. The fire control computer and the satellite navigation system are also housed there. Except for ammunition, the gun operator does not have to leave the cab at any time to operate the ARCHER artillery system. A remote-controlled weapon station of the Protector M151 type with a 12.7 mm machine gun is installed on the driver's cab . The mount for the 155 mm howitzer is mounted on the chassis at the rear of the vehicle. An automatic loading device and a bullet magazine are attached to the gun .

The ARCHER artillery system reaches a maximum speed of 70 km / h on the road and has a range of up to 500 km. The artillery system is all-terrain and can negotiate gradients of 60%. The maximum permissible cross slope is 30%. The vehicle can negotiate bodies of water with a maximum depth of 1.2 m and it can drive through blankets of snow that are up to one meter thick. The ground clearance is 45 cm.

The ARCHER artillery system can start fire fighting within 20 seconds at full speed. It can also leave the position again within 20 seconds after the fire order has ended. ARCHER can be used autonomously or in combination with other guns in batteries . The bullet magazine is reloaded on another truck using a loading crane. The reloading process takes around 8-10 minutes.

gun

Rear view of the artillery system

A modified version of the 155 mm howitzer FH 77B05 with 52 caliber lengths (L / 52), a further development of the Fälthaubits 77 (FH-77), is used as a gun . The gun barrel is made of high-strength steel and is autofretted throughout . It has 48 trains . The combustion chamber has a volume of 25 liters and has a screw cap . In the barrel cradle , two hydropneumatic barrel brakes and return devices are mounted on the gun barrel. An automatic loading device and a magazine for 21 projectiles and their propellant charges are attached to the end of the gun . The fully automatic loading device feeds the bullets and places them in the tube. Then the propellant charges and propellant charge igniters are charged and supplied. The lateral straightening range is ± 85 °. The elevation range is −1 ° to + 70 °. At the rear of the vehicle, two ground spurs are lowered before the shot is fired , which divert the recoil force into the ground. In addition, the recoil is reduced by a single-chamber muzzle brake.

With the automatic loading device, 3 shots can be fired within 15 seconds. The entire magazine with the 21 bullets can be fired within 3.5 minutes. A rate of 8–9 rounds per minute is possible for sustained fire. A gun can fire 54 rounds within 35 minutes, including reload time. In addition, the ARCHER artillery system can fire six projectiles one after the other so that all projectiles arrive at the target at the same time ( MRSI ).

ammunition

ARCHER uses separately charged ammunition with variable propellant bags (zone charges). This means that the projectile and the propellant charge are loaded one after the other. The modular Uniflex 2 propellant charge system developed by Bofors is primarily used. This consists of combinable cargo bags. In addition, the NATO standard propellant charges and the DM72 propellant charges can also be used.

With ARCHER, the HE-ER bullet type is primarily used. HE-ER stands for High Explosive Extended Range . a. produced by Bofors and Nammo AS . Compared to the 155 mm NATO standard M107 bullet , the NM 269 HE-ER bullet has a significantly better aerodynamic and slimmer shape. HE-ER was developed in order to achieve great accuracy even at long shooting distances (over 30 km). According to the manufacturer, the target deviation ( scatter ) for this type of bullet should be less than 0.4% in the firing distance and in the azimuth .

The ARCHER artillery system uses the following ammunition:

Surname Bullet type Weight filling Shooting distance
HE-ER HB HE grenade with hollow bottom 44 kg 9.9 kg TNT / RDX 32 km
HE-ER BB HE grenade with base bleed 47 kg 9.9 kg TNT / RDX 41 km
HE-ER FB BT Extended range full bore bullet 44 kg 8.1 kg TNT / RDX 33 km
HE-ER FB BB Extended-Range-Full-Bore-Bullet with Base Bleed 47 kg 9.9 kg TNT / RDX 42 km
M982 Excalibur precision-guided artillery shell 48 kg 22 kg PBX 50-60 km
bonus Search fuse ammunition 45 kg 2 search fuze cluster munitions 35 km

Technical data

The HE-ER bullet family also includes smoke bullets and light bullets . HE-ER bullets are also offered with insensitive explosives . These projectiles are called IM HE-ER . The ARCHER artillery system can also use the M / 77 projectiles (SGR-77) of the FH-77 field howitzer. Furthermore, ARCHER can fire almost all 155 mm NATO ammunition as long as the projectile length is not greater than 1,000 mm and the muzzle velocity is below 950 m / s.

User states

  • SwedenSweden Sweden - 24 (plus another 24 will be taken over by Norway)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Archer 155MM FH 77 BW L52. (PDF) In: baesystems.com. BAE Systems, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Lieutenant Colonel Markus Oetterli: The pipe artillery system ARCHER. (PDF) In: sogart.ch. Swiss Artillery Officers Society, accessed on November 16, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Archer. In: military-today.com. Military Today, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Victoria Välilä: A Good Day at the Artillery Regiment. In: forsvarsmakten.se. Försvarsmakten, accessed on November 16, 2017 (English).
  5. ^ Ian Kemp: Nordic Thunder . EDR Magazine No. 50, 2020. p. 26.
  6. ^ A b c d e Major Walter Christian Håland: Archer. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: Truppendienst 03/2011. European Military Press Association, archived from the original on November 17, 2017 ; accessed on November 16, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / empamil.eu
  7. ↑ a b Archer FH77 BW L52 wheeled self-propelled howitzer 155 mm data sheet information specifications. In: armyrecognition.com. Army Recognition, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  8. ↑ a b c Archer. In: army-guide.com. Army Guide, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b c d Archer Weapon characteristics - Preliminary ammunition requirements. (PDF) In: mercell.com. RFI, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  10. ↑ MilitaryLeak: Nammo HE-ER 155 mm artillery ammunition (English)
  11. ↑ ARMY. In: army-guide.com. Army Guide, accessed November 28, 2017 .
  12. ↑ a b 155 mm ammunition. In: msm.sk. MSM Group, accessed November 16, 2017 .
  13. ↑ a b Jane’s Infantry Weapons: Nammo's latest 155 mm ammunition begins production (English)
  14. ^ The Military Balance 2016. p. 161, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), ISBN 1-85743-835-3 .
  15. ^ Trade Register on sipri.org , accessed November 16, 2017