Heavy-Shift
Sweden Takes Delivery of First Archer 8x8: The Howitzer Swaps Its Dump Truck for a Tactical Truck
Defense Mobility

Sweden Takes Delivery of First Archer 8x8: The Howitzer Swaps Its Dump Truck for a Tactical Truck

By Heavy-shift 3 min read
Sweden Takes Delivery of First Archer 8x8: The Howitzer Swaps Its Dump Truck for a Tactical Truck
Sweden Takes Delivery of First Archer 8x8: The Howitzer Swaps Its Dump Truck for a Tactical Truck

Sweden Takes Delivery of First Archer 8x8: The Howitzer Swaps Its Dump Truck for a Tactical Truck

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) handed over the first four Archer 8x8 self-propelled howitzers to the Swedish Armed Forces at the Villingsberg firing range near Karlskoga on 25 August. It is the first delivery under a US$500 million contract for 48 systems signed with BAE Systems Bofors in September 2023 — and the moment the Archer family officially changed platforms: after a decade on an articulated hauler chassis, the 155 mm howitzer now rides on a purpose-built military truck.

From dump truck to tactical truck

The Archer 6x6 that entered Swedish service in 2016 is built on a modified Volvo A30D articulated hauler — the same class of machine that shifts blasted rock at quarries and mine sites across the Nordic region. Its replacement, the Archer 8x8, integrates the gun on an RMMV HX2 8x8 tactical truck from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles, fitted with a protected cab and hardened to withstand the pressure wave of the 155 mm weapon.

FMV project manager Lars Taraldsson said the truck version is easier to handle and more comfortable, with truck-standard ergonomics and somewhat better crew protection. "But the big difference is that you get around faster on the roads, which gives a better operational movement capacity. With the truck version you can drive 80–90 km/h, compared with 50–60 km/h with the dumper," he said.

That road speed is the point. Divisional artillery that can reposition at highway pace is harder to target and easier to concentrate — and Archer's shoot-and-scoot routine already keeps exposure to a minimum. The system can move into and out of a firing position in about 20 seconds; a crew can fire six rounds, abandon the position and displace 500 metres in under two minutes without leaving the armoured cab. The 155 mm L52 howitzer, fed by an automatic 21-round magazine, fires BONUS anti-armour submunitions out to roughly 35 km and GPS-guided Excalibur projectiles beyond 50 km.

Programme ramping up

BAE Systems Bofors contracted RMMV in March 2024 to supply 48 HX2 cab chassis with protected cabins, a deal worth around €71 million, with chassis deliveries running from the third quarter of 2024 through the end of 2027. The first 8x8 rolled out of BAE's plant in Karlskoga in January 2026 and reached FMV for acceptance inspection in April.

The four guns handed over this week are destined for the Bergslagen Artillery Regiment (A 9). The regiment introduces the system this autumn, and it enters conscript training from the current training year (2026–27) as part of future war units, according to A 9 commander Colonel Henrik Rosdahl. Two more training pieces will follow during the autumn; FMV then begins delivering the remaining systems, with the programme complete by 2030 at the latest.

"Archer 8x8 will be important for strengthening the artillery capability in southern Sweden and on Gotland. Modern warfare depends on indirect fire and requires long-range systems," said Brigadier General Per Nilsson, acting chief of the Swedish Army. BAE Systems Bofors chief executive Lena Gillström called the handover proof of the joint commitment to strengthening Sweden's long-range artillery capability.

A second life for the 6x6

The Volvo-based fleet is not being scrapped. It remains in Swedish service but is being phased out of the divisional artillery role as the 8x8 arrives. The 6x6 version has also proved exportable: 14 systems operate with the British Army as an interim replacement for AS-90s donated to Ukraine, and eight were donated to Ukraine in 2023. Sweden has since pledged a further 18 Archers to Ukraine in March 2025 and another 18 in September 2025, with deliveries of the HX2-based version to Ukraine starting this year. Latvia ordered 18 systems in 2025.

For an industry that knows the A30D as a quarry workhorse, the Archer 8x8 is a reminder of how far construction-platform engineering has travelled — from hauling overburden to delivering precision fire from a protected truck cab.

Sources

Defense Mobility Contracts & Orders