The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a Voluntary Transparency Notice (VTN) regarding its intention to award a £58 million contract to BAE Systems Bofors AB for the long-term in-service support of the Archer Artillery System.
According to the notice, the contract will ensure maintenance, repair, training, and configuration management for the system, which forms part of the Interim 155 Capability Project.
The MoD, via the notice, confirmed that BAE Systems Bofors AB—the original designer and sole manufacturer of the Archer system—will be the only supplier capable of fulfilling the contract due to its ownership of the essential design, technology, and specialist tooling required for ongoing support.
The contract is expected to be formally awarded by Q2 2026 and will run for seven years, with two additional one-year renewal options.
The Archer Artillery System is a highly mobile, self-propelled 155mm howitzer, providing rapid-fire capability and advanced long-range precision strike for British troops.
According to the MoD transparency notice, no alternative suppliers could be considered because:
- BAE Systems Bofors AB is the only company with the technical knowledge, design expertise, and specialist equipment required.
- The MoD lacks the rights to share critical technical data with third-party suppliers.
- Any re-design, repair, or modification work must be undertaken by the original manufacturer to ensure safety and performance standards are maintained.
Scope of the Contract
The in-service support agreement will cover:
- Technical design modifications and system upgrades.
- Maintenance and repairs to keep the system operational.
- Obsolescence management to ensure key components remain available.
- Specialist training for UK military personnel on system operation and maintenance.
This contract is a critical step in the UK’s efforts to sustain and enhance its artillery firepower, ensuring the Archer system remains combat-ready in the years ahead.
With BAE Systems Bofors AB as the design authority, the MoD has opted for a direct contract award to guarantee that the necessary technical expertise, proprietary knowledge, and spare parts remain available for British forces.
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14 guns bought for an interim capability and it cost £58 million to maintain them?
Barmy. £4 million plus per gun? Perhaps it’s management time for the MOD….
Unfortunately, these days there will be a lot of stock control, maintenance manuals and mods management systems to be put in place for such a complicated system (e.g. autoloader / targeting systems, etc.). The overhead for the software would have a minimum cost regardless of how small the actual force is.
Buying really small numbers is always more expensive, even second hand. I would also note that these support contracts often include training elements at least for the army instructors’ and courses
As Jonathan says they should just buy the Archer system, but Sunak apparently ordered the Boxer SPG system off his own bat – weird..!
Cheers CR
The MoD ordered the RCH155 because it should be a better system than Archer
• it can fire while on the move, which is obviously better than shoot and scoot
• it’s capable of direct-fire
• only needs a crew of 2
Plus they will be part built in the U.K., thanks to the existing Boxer production line.
Let’s not forget what the RA, REME and the MoD Equipment Support Manager do as well!
To be honest I honestly don’t know why the army does not simply order Archer for its new artillery system, I imagine they could get the systems pretty quickly.
Nothing to do with the army. Rishi Sunak torpedoed the army’s selection process and decided on Boxer RCH -155, because he was of course an artillery expert!!!
Archer is good it’s tested so I don’t know why we don’t buy it and equip our artillery with it and it’s time infantry battalions moved up to 120mm mortars the boxer mortar system would fit in well
It’s good and tested, .that’s why we don’t order it. We don’t do good and tested. We prefer exquisite and untested so we can look surprised when the programme is late and vastly over budget.
The army of course were to evaluate a range of options to replace AS-90 but Sunak decided instead to buy Boxer RCH-155 as the long term replacement.
Is there any way for HMG to find out how much other nations pay for their contracts? I know there are different costs for numbers, etc., but they could get a mean figure per unit. It will tell them if BAE is overcharging.
Seems rather excessive for 14 guns.