The British Army has fired its new Archer Mobile Howitzer system for the first time.
The Royal Artillery tested its latest firepower in the Arctic Circle on Monday, only 70 miles from Russia’s border, in Exercise Lightning Strike.
It makes up part of Nato’s wider Dynamic Front 25 series, which will take place across five countries and marks the alliance’s largest-ever artillery exercise in Europe.
Some 3,600 soldiers, including around 1,250 international troops from 28 nations, will be involved in the war drills taking place near Rovaniemi in Finland. Of these, around 350 soldiers will be deployed by the British Army.
It is the first time Finland has hosted a major international military exercise since becoming the 31st member of Nato in April 2023, 14 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The move ended decades of Finnish neutrality and more than doubled the length of Nato’s direct border with Russia.
The drill also marks the first time the Archer Mobile Howitzer has been deployed by the British Army to conduct live firing, demonstrating their ability to carry out deep strikes.
The UK’s Archer 155-mm guns are designed to fire explosive shells or GPS-guided munitions and can hit targets 30 miles away, doubling their previous range. It is reported the Howitzer can fire 12 rounds in three minutes.
A crew of three or four handles the loading, laying and firing of the gun from inside an armoured cabin.
Some 16 Archers will replace 32 AS-90 artillery systems that were gifted to Ukraine. The Lapland firing range and training area, called Rovajarvi, is Europe’s biggest.
Finland shares an 832-mile border with Russia. It has followed a strict non-aligned status since the end of the Second World War in a bid to maintain cordial relations with Moscow but decided to abandon the policy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Col Janne Makitalo, the director of the exercise, told AFP: “The area itself is the reason why allies want to come to the Rovajarvi exercise area to train.”
It allows for “multi-sided tactical fire exchanges for field artillery” while training soldiers to handle the challenging conditions and varying terrain in the Arctic region, Col Makitalo said.
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