Latvia will procure the Czech wheeled self-propelled howitzer Morana instead of the previously planned Swedish Archer system. This was decided by the government cabinet of the Baltic state in the past week. As a reason, the Latvian Ministry of Defense cited the respective costs, delivery times, capabilities, and the involvement of the domestic industry in the two systems.
So far Latvia planned to procure 18 Archers from BAE Systems, also to strengthen cooperation with the country of origin, Sweden. The Swedish armed forces wanted to deploy their own Archer to Latvia this year. For joint training and exercises a bi-national artillery unit with the system was to be formed. An accompanying memorandum of understanding had been signed by both governments in June of last year.
Archer with Rapid Fire Readiness
Archer was developed from 1995 by the Swedish Bofors, which is now part of BAE Systems. It consists of a 155-mm gun with 51 calibers and an automatic loader, which in the original version is mounted on an all-terrain 6×6 articulated Volvo A30D vehicle. The magazine contains 21 projectiles with 126 modular charges of the Bofors Uniflex 2 type or NATO-standard and can be swapped within ten minutes by a ammunition resupply vehicle.
The firing range with standard ammunition is 30 kilometers. The range for the BONUS round from Bofors and Nexter with guided submunitions is given as 35 kilometers, and for the American precision round M982 Excalibur at 50 kilometers. The time from halt to firing and leaving the position after the last shot should be 20 seconds. The automatic loader can fire three rounds in 20 seconds, or the entire magazine in three minutes.
First Order for Morana
The crew of three to four men has a protected, NBC-equipped cockpit that is shielded against armor-piercing ammunition caliber 7.62 mm NATO and artillery fragments, as well as anti-tank mines with six kilograms of explosive mass. Sweden, which had handed over 26 of its originally procured 48 systems to Ukraine, has ordered 48 new systems on an 8×8 Rheinmetall HX2 chassis and 36 more for Ukraine. Latvia was also to receive this version.
For Morana, developed by the Czech company Excalibur Army, the Latvian decision means the first contract. According to the manufacturer, the system features a 155-mm barrel with 52 calibers and a maximum firing range of more than 41 kilometers on an 8×8 platform. The onboard ammunition supply is 44 rounds, and the fully automatic loading mechanism allows firing the first shot after 40 seconds and six rounds within a minute after the vehicle stops.
Here too the crew consists of three men who operate the system from a cabin protected to NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2 against armor-piercing ammunition caliber 7.62 x 39 mm from 30 meters, artillery fragments and anti-tank mines with six kilograms of explosive, and protected against ABC warfare agents. Latvia has identified indirect fire as one of the key capabilities in its military build-up. In the current defense budget, 159 million euros are allocated for this.
