The British Army has fired its new Archer Mobile Howitzer artillery system for the first time at the ongoing NATO Exercise Dynamic Front 25 military training in Finland.
Procured from Sweden in 2023, the howitzer features a fully automated gun that can fire more than eight rounds a minute at a range of 50 kilometers. According to Luke Pollard, U.K. minister of state for the armed forces, the life fire activity highlights his government’s commitment to enhancing the capabilities of its military to secure the country and support NATO efforts to address threats and deter aggression in Europe.
In addition to the howitzer, the British soldiers also demonstrated the Saab-built TAIPAN enemy artillery detection radar and the Multiple Launch Rocket System, which can deploy up to 12 rockets in less than a minute.
The demonstrations align with the United Kingdom’s “NATO first” defense strategy, which seeks to increase defense spending to 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product, higher than NATO’s military spending target.
The 12-day event, which began on Nov. 14 with the participation of 5,000 soldiers from 28 countries, is the first Finland-hosted exercise as a NATO member. It is also the first training event of the NATO artillery exercise series, with the next four events to be held in other countries in the coming months. The primary goal of the training events is to coordinate live-fire artillery capabilities between allied nations.