UK fires Archer for first time in live-fire exercise

The British Army has conducted the first live-fire exercise with its BAE Systems Bofors Archer self-propelled howitzer and also demonstrated the country's Taipan Artillery Hunting Radar (Arthur) and Multiple Launch Rocket System.

The firing took place as part of Exercise Dynamic Front 25 in Finland, which involves 5,000 soldiers – including 350 deployed by the British Army – and is the first time the country has hosted a major international military exercise since joining NATO in April 2023.

The exercise began on 14 November and runs until 26 November. The exercise is taking place on the edge of the Arctic circle with soldiers from 28 countries training in temperatures as low as -3°.

The US Department of Defense announced that the upgraded M270A2 MLRS was fired for the first time on an international exercise as part of the scenario by the US Army's 41st Field Artillery Brigade only 90 days after taking delivery.

The training is the first in a wider NATO Dynamic Front 25 series, which takes place across four more countries in the coming months and aims to coordinate live-fire artillery capabilities between allied nations from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea.

The exercises are a specific response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than 1,000 days ago. They are a recognition that NATO’s front against Russia runs from the far north of the Arctic Circle and Finland to the Black Sea and Romania where Russia has been attempting to assert its dominance.

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