British Army fires new artillery gun for the first time on Nato exercise

British soldiers person fired a caller artillery weapon for the archetypal clip connected a tactical workout successful Finland.

Soldiers from the 19th Regiment Royal Artillery are presently successful Lapland arsenic portion of Exercise Dynamic Front, the largest Nato artillery joint-fires workout that Finland has hosted since it joined the organisation successful 2023.

The Swedish-made Archer 155mm self-propelled guns person been acquired arsenic an interim replacement for the 32 AS90s which the UK has donated to Ukraine successful its struggle with Russia.

The Archer, which is designed and built by BAE Systems Bofors, has treble the maximum scope of the AS90, greater operational mobility, greater availability and reduced clip into action, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Major Mortimer, 2nd successful bid of 19 Rgt RA, said: “This is simply a fantastic accidental to showcase our modernised artillery capableness successful beforehand of each our Nato partners and alongside their guns, similar the French Caesar, the Swedish Archer, the Finnish K9 and the American MLRS.”

The 19 Rgt RA (The Scottish Gunners) presently supports 12 Mechanised Brigade successful the armoured tract artillery relation and has occurrence enactment teams mounted successful Warrior Mechanised Artillery Observation Vehicles equipped with MSTAR (Man-portable Surveillance and Target Requisition Radar).

The regiment’s 3 weapon batteries are equipped with the Archer, and 19 Rgt RA makes up the bulk of the 250 British Army troops successful Finland, with soldiers from 5 Rgt RA operating the Taipan and 26th Regiment Royal Artillery besides successful enactment with the MLRS.

Major Mortimer said the regiment arrived amid a “snowstorm with temperatures arsenic debased arsenic minus 15 degrees”.

He added: “It was rather a civilization daze to a batch of our unit to beryllium up present successful rather investigating conditions.

“Even though it’s warmed up a bit, it’s inactive been rather challenging, but we addressed those challenges earlier deploying by completing the cold-weather relation people and immoderate snowfall and crystal operator training.

“Since being retired present we’ve been assisted by Arctic warfare instructors, some from the UK and besides the Finnish Jaeger Brigade, to assistance america larn immoderate techniques to past the acold and we person each our accustomed cold-weather kit.”

19 Regt RA is simply a close-support artillery regiment which tin occurrence agelong scope successful enactment of infantry and cavalry battlegroups and portion of the 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team.

Major Mortimer said: “The Archer represents a power from a tracked self-propelled weapon to a wheeled self-propelled weapon and alternatively than using, what we would call, dumb high-explosive rounds.

“The aboriginal is astir firing astute munitions which increases our lethality with anti-armour munitions and extended-range munitions.”

“It’s precise breathtaking to beryllium firing Archer for the archetypal clip present successful Finland, on with the archetypal Taipan unrecorded acquisitions present connected Exercise Dynamic Front.

“It shows our Nato partners we’re a modernising artillery and continually advancing.

“This is simply a fantastic accidental for our regiment for truthful galore reasons, including being much expeditionary and enables america to spell done the afloat deployment process, mounting done the aerial and vessel component.”

Exercise Dynamic Front has been organised by the United States Army’s 56th Artillery Command, but this is Finland’s archetypal clip hosting a subject grooming workout of this size since joining Nato successful 2023, with much than 5,000 troops from crossed 28 allies, each collaborating connected associated unrecorded fires utilising 130 antithetic limb systems.