The Swedish government may approve the transfer of Archer self-propelled guns to Ukraine on Thursday, January 19, reports European Truth.

“The task of the armed forces of Sweden is to prepare for the transfer of artillery systems to Ukraine,” reads the agenda on the website of the Swedish government.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said last week that he expects his government to decide on additional military support for Ukraine by the end of January.

Sweden’s prime minister told reporters in a recent phone call that he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi that “we want to do more,” adding that he expected “decisions to be made in January.”

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Sweden promised that Ukraine would receive Archer self-propelled guns, and this possibility was discussed last year.

What is an Archer self-propelled howitzer

The Archer is a 155mm self-propelled howitzer developed by BAE Systems. The first prototype of the machine was ready in 2010, and the Archer entered service with the Swedish army in February 2016, writes DefenseRomania.

Archer is armed with a 155-mm cannon. The howitzer is equipped with a computerized fire control system – it carries 20 shells of 155 mm caliber in fully automatic loading and another 20 shells for reloading.

The Archer howitzer has a maximum firing range of 40 km with conventional 155 mm ammunition and 60 km with high-precision ammunition, including Excalibur. The Excalibur (XM982, M982, and M982A1) is a 155 mm long-range GPS-guided artillery round used as a high-precision munition for high-end artillery guns.

In terms of mobility, the Archer howitzer can travel at a maximum highway speed of 70 km/h, with a maximum flight range of 500 km.