April 2025 - Part 2
FH77 Archer Mobile Artillery
Link to Website Index: 
BAE SYSTEMS Bofors Archer FH77BW L52
19 Regiment Royal Artillery (The Scottish Gunners)
Larkhall, Salisbury Plain, 2025
Osiris 1/72 Resin Print
Link to Website Index:
The BAE Bofors Archer mobile artillery first entered Swedish Army service in 2016
as the culmination of a joint Swedish / Norwegian development from 2008, based around
the existing proven Bofors FH77 155mm Howitzer and the Volvo A30D series articulated
truck.
Forty eight systems were to be built in total, but the Norwegian Government withdrew
from the project in 2013 due to ongoing technical delays. The guns used on the project
already had an interesting history, having originally been manufactured for the Indian
Army but not delivered after the contract was cancelled due to allegations of bribery.
In 2023, the British Army procured 14 systems (including re-loading trucks, equipment
and ammunition) as an interim replacement for AS-90 Self Propelled Howitzers that
had been gifted to Ukraine. The British vehicles were drawn from vehicles originally
allocated to Norway and delivered in mid 2024.
Archer is a highly mobile system that can deploy at up to 56mph, with excellent off-road
capability and through snow up to 1m deep. It is ready to fire within 20 seconds
of stopping and can move on within 20 seconds of firing its last shot. The autoloading
system mounted behind the gun carries 21 rounds. Which can be fired at a rate of
75 rounds per minute. Different types of rounds can be carried within the magazine
and selected from the cab just before firing,. The propellant charge can be varied
to allow control of flight time. In this way multiple rounds can be fired with different
flight times co-ordinated to arrive on target at the same instant, with the vehicle
having moved to a new site before the first round strikes (thus making counter-fire
difficult). An accompanying ammunition carrier can reload the magazine with 21 new
rounds within 10 minutes. Various types of smart projectile can be carried, all
of which comply with NATO standards and are thus also compatible with the AS-90.
GPS guidance, winglets and base bleed techniques are applied to increase range and
accuracy, with up to 65km range regularly achieved (with specific projectiles).
The Volvo-based cab carries 2 or 3 crew members and is armoured against anti-tank
mines, small arms and light canon fire/artillery fragments. The cab is also NBC
protected and there is no need for crew members to leave the vehicle to fire the
gun. It is air-transportable within the C-17 Globemaster, although not currently
cleared for loading in the A-400M Atlas. Versions currently under development have
been adapted to use different carrier vehicles.
Ukraine has been operating 8 systems since 2023. One has been reported as destroyed
(by a Russian drone). The remaining systems have gained high praise for their effectiveness
and in particular their excellent first-shot accuracy.
Building the Osiris FH77 Archer Artillery Piece
I'm really quite taken with these small and beautifully detailed resin print AFV
kits from Osiris Models. This is my 4th and I have several more on order.
Assembly is very straightforward and there are 3D videos available (but only on e-bay
as far as I can tell, not Osiris' own website?) You do have to separate the smaller
parts from a protective printing frame, which can be a delicate job as the resin
is a little brittle. Once off and cleaned up though, parts fit is almost perfect,
which is very commendable given that the print is scaleable and that my 1/72 ones
must be at the smaller end of practicality. Locator tabs/holes are provided for most
joints and fit together well. The only things that didn't "click together" were the
wheels, which proved to have too tight an interference fit. A little reaming sorted
that out quickly. Note that they are subtly flattened on their lower surface, so
it is important that they are orientated correctly.
I only had one other small issue during the build, in the form of a little breakage
(or perhaps short-shot/too small) issue with the grilles for the engine cooling fans.
Although these look OK on the completed model, each one had one of the grille parts
bend/separate from the rest. I also noticed that the stowage box behind the cab looks
as though it was short-printed on one edge - an easy thing to correct. When I was
finished there were 2 unused tiny parts that look like wing mirrors but are not on
the instructions; after a lot of searching, I discovered that these were tiny spotlights
intended for the frame that holds the wing mirrors.
Paint is Humbrol enamel (30) with various enamel and acrylic pots used for detailing.
Decals were home made, printed on my inkjet and based around the markings worn by
one British vehicle during a recent exercise in Sweden.
So another modern day AFV joins my collection. Osiris' kits are definitely recommended
and come at a very reasonable price compared to injection moulded, especially when
you consider the excellent level of detail they provide!
Background Image - an Archer proceeds through deep snow on exercise in Scandanavia
(Photo © UK MOD. Used under terms of the OGL)
The Real Thing ! (Photo By Ibaril - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)
(Photo above & below: © UK MOD Crown Copyright)
