Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled British Army announces new artillery deal with Sweden, published on 16 March 2023, what the expected (a) in-service and (b) out-of-service date of the 14 Archer artillery systems announced in that release is.

As announced on 16 March 2023, the UK has agreed a Government-to-Government sale with Sweden for the procurement of Archer artillery systems following the Granting in Kind of AS90 to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

It is intended that the first 14 Archer will have ownership transferred from Sweden to the British Army this month and will be fully operational by April 2024, forming an interim capability replacement until delivery of the long-term Mobile Fires Platform later this decade.

The contract for the procurement of the Archer platforms, including ammunition, support and training packages will be signed with Sweden shortly. It would be inappropriate to provide further information on in and out of service dates, costs, and future procurement options at this time.