BAE Systems Bofors company on its official LinkedIn profile reported that it manufactured the first 155mm self-propelled artillery system with 8x8 wheel formula for Swedish military.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you who are here today. Many of you are involved, as we will soon deliver the first sample and begin serial deliveries to FMV and the end customer Swedish Armed Forces, noted company CEO Lena Gillström, announcing the next stage, namely transfer of sample to FMV (Swedish Defence Materiel Administration).
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Recall we're talking about Archer SPH delivery under contract concluded in September 2023, when Sweden ordered 48 such vehicles at once; the cost of one for domestic customer came out to $10.4 million.
It's worth emphasizing that this time vehicles were ordered based on Rheinmetall MAN RMMV HX2 8x8 chassis, while under previous contract SPHs were based on Swedish Volvo A30D 6x6 chassis.
The contract for supplying chassis for Swedish SPHs was concluded with Rheinmetall in March 2024 for amount of about 71 million euros; chassis deliveries should be completed by end of 2027.
Sweden should have received the first new Archer SPH on German chassis according to previous schedule by end of last year BAE Systems Bofors officially reported this during contract announcement, so the first SPH will go to Swedish military with delay probably of several months.
Why this happened and whether the delay will affect further Archer self-propelled artillery system delivery is not reported.
Archer SPH in Volvo A30D chassis variant has been in service with Ukraine's Defense Forces since 2023. Also for Ukraine, within two contracts, production of 36 Archer SPHs was ordered.
Clarification: in January, Swedish Embassy in Ukraine reported that Sweden transferred 26 Archer SPHs to Ukraine.
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