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Sweden and UK strike deal to get more artillery to Ukraine

Sweden on Thursday announced a deal to sell its Archer mobile cannon system to the United Kingdom, allowing London to donate its older AS90 artillery system to Ukraine.

Published: 17 March 2023 09:11 CET

Sweden and UK strike deal to get more artillery to Ukraine

Archer ready for fire mission during the Swedish Army's Trident Juncture exercise in 2018. Photo: Swedish Armed Forces

The Swedish government said in a statement that the UK would purchase 14 Archer units.

Stockholm announced in January it would also be sending the Archer system directly to Ukraine without specifying an amount, and on Thursday it said it would send eight pieces.

The Swedish-developed Archer system is a fully-automated howitzer mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, which allows the gun to be remotely operated by the crew sitting in the armoured cab.

“Artillery such as the Archer, together with armoured vehicles and tanks, increases Ukraine’s defence capability and enables them to retake territory,” Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said.

Britain said the 14 Archer systems would serve as “an interim replacement for the 32 AS90 artillery systems the UK gifted to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

London announced it was sending the AS90 to Ukraine in January. Sweden’s government said it had so far pledged 16.9 billion kronor ($1.6 billion) worth of military support for Ukraine.

In February, Sweden joined a slew of Western nations pledging heavier weapons for Ukraine, by promising “around 10” of its Leopard 2 A5 tanks, as well as the IRIS-T and HAWK anti-air missile systems.

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Swedish parliament group urges 52 billion kronor hike in defence spending

That would bring spending to 2.6 percent of GDP, thereby exceeding the Nato target of two percent.

The Swedish Defence Commission said the Scandinavian country needed to respond to new conditions, citing heightened tensions in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Sweden’s recent integration into the Nato military alliance.

The commission recommended additional army brigades and navy personnel, a rise in the number of conscripts trained up every year and the creation of Sweden’s first ever rocket artillery unit.

READ ALSO: Can dual citizens be called up for Swedish military service?

“Together, the (recommended) additions for military defence amount to 52.8 billion kronor in 2030,” the commission said in a report presented to the government on Friday.

The commission is composed of MPs from all parties in parliament, as well as experts and representatives of various authorities, including the armed forces.

Its report will form the basis for a decision on defence spending in parliament this autumn, which the commission said would be “historic”.

“The deteriorating security situation, combined with Sweden’s obligations as an Ally, requires an increased ambition for the military defence,” the government said on its website on Friday.

Sweden’s defence budget for 2024 is around 119 billion kronor.

With the proposed increase, it would reach 185 billion kronor, defence commission chair Hans Wallmark told a press conference.

More troops

Wallmark said the commission wanted to bring forward the deployment of two new army brigades so the force had a total of four by 2030.

MPs wanted there to be three mechanised brigades and one infantry brigade, he told reporters.

The commission also proposed the creation of Sweden’s first rocket artillery unit, saying it believed the creation of a full battalion was “pressing” but needed to be evaluated further.

It recommended a 50-percent expansion in the number of conscripts trained every year.

“We want to train 12,000 conscripts a year by 2032”, said Wallmark, up from the 8,000 a year currently trained.

More personnel should also be provided for the navy, he said.

Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin made waves in January when he told a defence conference “there could be war in Sweden”.

Shortly after, armed forces commander Micael Bydén also said Swedes needed to “mentally prepare for war”.

READ ALSO:

Sweden drastically slashed its defence spending after the end of the Cold War but reversed course following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In March 2022, after Russia’s fully fledged invasion of Ukraine, Stockholm announced it would increase spending again, aiming to dedicate two percent of GDP to defence “as soon as possible”.

Late last year, the government said military spending would exceed the two-percent goal in 2024.

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