- Yes
- No
The Swedish-developed Archer artillery system entered British service in 2023. Archer is a thoroughly modern 155 mm artillery system featuring an autoloaded 155 mm L/52 howitzer. While perhaps appearing similar to truck based self-propelled howitzers at first glance, Archer is fully capable of direct fire and possesses a number of features which would make it unique in War Thunder. In British service, Archer features different markings and radio equipment compared to Swedish Archers, but is overall very similar.
Background
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The development of Archer commenced in the early 2000s as an ambitious upgrade program for the FH 77B howitzer already in Swedish service. The upgrade of the FH 77B included the fitting of a new longer barrel, an autoloading system, and the howitzer being mounted to an armored articulated hauler manufactured by Volvo. Following a decision to donate 32 AS90s to Ukraine, the United Kingdom was in immediate need of a new artillery system to supplement the remaining AS90s in service. Having originally entered Swedish service in 2016, 14 Archers could be made available for purchase following rapid negotiations. British Archer deliveries commenced in October 2023. Archer is currently in service with the British Army as a stopgap before the delivery of the planned Mobile Fires Platform.
In War Thunder
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Firepower
Archer is armed with an autoloaded 155 mm L/52 howitzer with a high rate of fire and good ballistics. This howitzer and its ammunition is positioned at the rear of the vehicle, entirely separate from the crew of four and engine at the front. This howitzer provides. This is paired with a thermal sight and laser range finder. A unique detail of Archer is that there is no sight fitted coaxially with the howitzer. Instead, it is aimed via the remote weapon station (RWS) fitted on top of the crew can. This RWS features a day camera, thermal sight, and laser range finder. Moreover, it also sports an M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun in a Protector Nordic remote weapon station which gives Archer good secondary firepower with traverse speed sufficient to engage some air targets. A limitation of Archer is its inability to fire straight forward, but despite the rear position of the armament, the howitzer is capable of traversing 85 degrees to either side and depress.
Mobility
Perhaps the most visually striking aspect of Archer is that the vehicle is based on an articulated hauler, specifically a Volvo A30E. This means that the vehicle is split in two sections and steering is accomplished by turning the forward and rear sections in relation to one another. While this limits Archer’s top speed, it also allows for high off-road mobility and a small turning circle. In War Thunder, this type of steering would have to be introduced as a new feature. Hopefully, the good off-road performance of articulated haulers compared to conventional trucks would be reflected in Archer’s in-game performance. While slower than a lot of trucks, Archer’s top speed is still fairly good at 70 km/h, although limited by a relatively low power to weight ratio.
Gameplay
Archer would overall be similar to the G6 already in the British tech tree. While it would be somewhat slower and unable fire directly forward, it would have the advantages of featuring a higher rate of fire, a thermal sight, laser range finder, and shells with higher muzzle velocity.
Due to its unique sight arrangement, Archer’s ability to use the gun sight and aim the howitzer could be removed if this weapon station is destroyed as an electronic feature. However, given that War Thunder does not model the effect of damaged sights, this might only disable the thermal sight and laser range finder. While Archer would also be limited by its inability to fire straight forward, its rear armament would allow Archer players to peek around corners without exposing the crew or engine, enabling some unique play styles and gameplay scenarios, at least in Arcade and Realistic Battles where using the barrel as sight is possible.
Specifications
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Primary armament
Caliber: 155 mm
Name: 15,5 cm haub 77B or 15,5 cm ARCHER
Ammunition capacity: 21 shells
Autoloader: Yes
Autoloader: Yes
Rate of fire:
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Burst (according to BAE): 3 rounds in 20 seconds, equivalent to <6.7 second reload[/floatl]
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Intensive (according to BAE): 21 rounds in 3 minutes, equivalent to <8.6 second reload[/floatl]
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According to FMV: 8-9 rounds per minute, equivalent to 6.7-7.5 second reload
Ammunition: Compatible with NATO-standard 155 mm ammunition
Horizontal guidance: ±85°
Vertical guidance: -1° to +70°
Sight: aimed via RWS
Secondary armament (RWS)
Caliber: 12.7 mm
Name: M2 .50 cal in Protector Nordic
Horizontal guidance: 360º
Horizontal rotation speed: 90º /s
Vertical guidance: -20º to +60
Vertical rotation speed: 70º /s
Stabilization: 4 Axis Fully stabilized
Thermal sight: Yes
Laser range finder: Yes
Mobility
Weight: 34 tonnes
Top speed: 70 km/h
Engine: Volvo D9
Horsepower: 340-338 hp
Drive: 6x6
Maximum steering angles: ±45°
Survivability
Armor: STANAG Level 2 or STANAG Level 3. Equivalent to protection against 7.62 mm AP ammunition.
Crew: 4
Photos
Video showing rate of fire (note that the video features a pre-production Archer, not the final serial model)
Sources
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BAE Systems. ARCHER. Mobile Howitzer 6x6. Brochure. Via https://www.baesystems.com/en/product/archer
https://www.fmv.se/armada/projekt/archer/
Artilleri & Luftvärn nr. 4 2007 by Höök Design AB - Issuu
Artilleri & Luftvärn nr. 2 2010 by Höök Design AB - Issuu
Svenska Archer – sätter pilen där det gör som mest ont – Teknikaliteter
Försvarets materielverk. 2014. Ammunitionskatalog Data och bild. Kalmar: Lenanders. 155 mm High Explosive Extended Range - Nammo | Nammo
A30E - Volvo : Volvo Construction Equipment
https://www.army.mod.uk/learn-and-explore/equipment/artillery-and-air-defence/archer/
Världens modernaste artilleri på plats i Ukraina - Försvarsmakten
https://www.army.mod.uk/news/british-army-s-first-archer-gun-has-arrived-on-uk-soil/