Sweden announced on September 11, 2025, its 20th support package to Ukraine, valued at approximately SEK 9.2 billion ($836 million). This package was presented by Defence Minister Pål Jonson and is structured to respond to operational requests made by Kyiv. The centrepiece of the new aid is the procurement of 18 newly built Archer 155 mm self-propelled howitzers along with 155 mm artillery ammunition, which will raise the total number of Archers available to the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 44.
The artillery and long-range capability line of the package is valued at about SEK 3.6 billion and covers the 18 Archers, artillery ammunition, and drones. Pål Jonson specified that $327 million will go toward 155 mm ammunition, and he cited direct feedback from his August 2025 visit to a Ukrainian unit operating Archers, where crews described the system as effective against Russian assets and resilient under counter-fire. These 18 howitzers are in addition to the 18 systems authorized in March 2025 as part of Sweden’s 18th support package, bringing the total number of newly manufactured Archers destined for Ukraine to 36. With the eight units transferred from Swedish stocks in November 2023, Ukraine’s planned fleet is now 44. Deliveries of newly produced Archers are scheduled to begin in 2026, and the units for Ukraine will be built on the Rheinmetall MAN HX2 8×8 chassis, which has already been adopted for Sweden’s own orders.
The September 2025 package also includes naval and air-defense components. SEK 2.1 billion ($190 million) will fund coastal surveillance radars, marine support vessels equipped with grenade launchers, diving equipment, and crane vehicles, while upgrades are planned for 32 donated Combat Boat 90 craft to integrate new sensors, weapons, and radars. Air-defense and “space” allocations are valued at SEK 3.5 billion ($320 million) and will add radar sensors, command and control systems, and programmable 40 mm ammunition to the Tridon Mk 2 anti-aircraft systems already donated. The Swedish Armed Forces will also contribute equipment worth $12.7 million, including 500 motorcycles and air-base support vehicles such as trucks and tractors. Additionally, $68 million in financial contributions will go to capability coalitions. Officials also noted that classified systems and projects are included, which will be introduced directly on the battlefield. The government framed this as part of a long-term commitment, pairing the announcement with plans to allocate SEK 40 billion annually for military support to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027, and civil support of at least SEK 10 billion annually for 2026–2027, rising to SEK 10.5 billion in 2028.
The Archer system itself centers on a fully automated 155 mm L52 howitzer with a 21-round projectile magazine and 126 modular propellant charges managed by an automatic loader. Built for rapid in-and-out firing cycles, the Archer typically enters into action in well under 30 seconds, executing fire missions that can include three-round salvos in about 20 seconds, intensive bursts of 21 rounds in roughly three minutes, and sustained rates of 54 rounds across 35 minutes, then displacing in similarly short intervals to reduce counter-battery exposure. Fire control is digitized with onboard ballistic computation, electronic fuze setting, and an inertial navigation system supported by GPS, enabling quick receipt and execution of fire missions from networked command systems. Archer is qualified for the full spectrum of NATO 155 mm ammunition, including extended-range high-explosive types beyond 40 km, BONUS top-attack munitions around 35 km, and M982 Excalibur precision rounds exceeding 50 km, allowing units to combine area suppression, point-target precision. Furthermore, this artillery system possesses a Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) capability, meaning it can fire up to six shells along different trajectories so they land on the target at the same time.
Originally mounted on a Volvo A30D 6×6 chassis, the 18 new Ukrainian Archer will use the Rheinmetall HX2 8×8 platform, which provides road speeds up to about 90 km/h and an operating radius near 800 km, with an integral rear stabilizer to support firing stability and rapid redeployment. The armored cabin seats up to four crew but allows operation by as few as three, and is protected against small-arms fire, shell fragments, and anti-tank mine blasts, while CBRN overpressure and filtration enhance crew survivability during sustained operations. The turreted architecture allows elevation from approximately −1° to +70° and horizontal traverse from roughly −85° to +85°, enabling wide sector coverage without vehicle repositioning. A roof remote weapon station typically mounts either a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm automatic grenade launcher for local defense, and the vehicle integrates run-flat tires, one-meter fording capacity, and air-lift options on C-17 or A400M for strategic mobility. Field resupply is streamlined through a dedicated support vehicle that carries about 100 rounds and can reload an Archer in roughly five to eight minutes, which shortens the time between displacements and subsequent fire missions.
Ukrainian operator accounts highlight specific operational effects that track to these design choices. Crews have emphasized the shorter sensor-to-shooter cycle made possible by automation and digital fire control, noting that Archer’s quick emplacement and immediate displacement reduce the time a battery remains exposed to drone observation and counter-battery radars. Units report that MRSI profiles allow several shells to arrive near-simultaneously, which has proven useful against distributed positions and artillery concentrations when paired with real-time UAV spotting. Bastioned cabin operations have been cited for limiting crew exposure compared with towed or semi-manual systems, and the ability to conduct direct-sight fires out to about 2,000 meters gives commanders an option for close-in engagements when terrain and reconnaissance allow. During a recent visit by Sweden’s defense minister to a Ukrainian Archer unit, soldiers corroborated that the system has been effective against Russian targets and attacks in current conditions, a judgment consistent with documented engagements.
Swedish officials explained that the decision to raise Ukraine’s total Archer inventory to 44 units was based on the direct feedback from Ukrainian artillery units, who provided several examples of the system’s effectiveness against Russian troops. For instance, in March 2024, the 45th Artillery Brigade employed it to strike a battery of Russian D-20 howitzers near Kreminna, with drone footage confirming multiple guns destroyed. In May 2024, footage from the Luhansk sector showed an Archer engagement against a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer near Chervonopopivka, demonstrating its reach and responsiveness against a mobile target. There was also a February 2024 incident near Kupiansk in which an Archer was hit by a loitering munition; Ukrainian sources assessed the damage as repairable, underscoring that survivability rests as much on rapid displacement and protective design as on hard-kill defenses. Collectively, these episodes confirmed the system’s survivability and effectiveness in counter-battery roles.
Sweden’s decision to procure new Archer systems for Ukraine also reflects its own procurement cycle and the broader European artillery market. Stockholm ordered 48 HX2-based Archers for its national forces in 2023, after transferring eight from its stocks to Ukraine and selling 14 to the United Kingdom, which integrated them as an interim replacement for AS90s it had sent to Ukraine.
For Ukraine, the cumulative effect of building a fleet of 44 Archers is the creation of one of Europe’s most concentrated groups of modern wheeled self-propelled howitzers, integrated with drone reconnaissance and NATO-standard ammunition, and already used to deliver high-volume, long-range, and precise fires under combat conditions.
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