Sweden orders Bofors 155mm BONUS munitions
BAE Systems has been contracted by the Swedish Defence and Material Administration to deliver 254 additional rounds of Bofors 155mm BONUS ammunition to the Swedish Army, the company announced on 2 November.
The latest version of BONUS is developed and produced in cooperation by BAE Systems in Sweden and Nexter in France.
The Swedish Army uses BONUS for its Archer artillery guns. The munition is capable of combating heavily armoured vehicles within 35kms. When launched from any 155mm artillery system, the BONUS carrier shell separates to deploy two sensor-fused munitions that search for targets within a given footprint, up to 32,000sqm. Each of the two expelled munitions seeks and neutralises its own target.
Lena Gillström, managing director for BAE Systems’ Weapon Systems business in Sweden, said: ‘Because each BONUS shell carries two smart munitions, its mission success per round is far greater than with traditional ammunition, providing the Swedish Army with clear advantages.
‘This order is part of a growing interest in BONUS around the globe and indicative of the system’s reliability and success factor.’
Production will take place at BAE Systems’ facility in Karlskoga, Sweden, with significant component deliveries from Nexter. Delivery is scheduled to take place in 2019.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Land Warfare
-
Romania opens the chequebook and reorganises as it watches Russian aggression
Romania is retiring old systems, some Soviet, and replacing them with western equipment from countries such as Sweden and Turkey and boosting existing modern fleets.
-
Milrem picks Texelis for partnership in drive to develop large UGV
Milrem has delivered or is building a total of 200 Tracked Hybrid Modular Infantry System UGVs and has chosen Texelis as partner in its effort to develop a UGV.
-
Sweden takes delivery of first M3 amphibious bridge and ferry system
The most recent nation to join NATO has joined other member nations in using the M3 system.
-
CV90 delivery to Slovakia imminent
Slovakia is undergoing a radical refresh of its equipment, like many central and eastern European countries, and the arrival of new vehicles will form a substantial part of this.
-
Mortar mobility: Patria’s TREMOS takes aim at the modern battlespace
In conversation... Patria’s Lauri Pauniaho talks to Shephard's Gerrard Cowan about how high mobility levels are essential for mortar systems in the face of modern counter-battery fire, and how a new platform-agnostic module can combine existing vehicles and mortar barrels into a cost-effective new weapon system.