The British Army has officially retired the AS90 Braveheart 155mm self-propelled howitzer, concluding more than three decades of service for one of the United Kingdom’s most iconic artillery platforms. Once the bedrock of British long-range firepower, the AS90’s journey has not ended in a scrapyard, but on the battlefields of Ukraine, where the system is finding renewed purpose amid Europe’s largest land war since World War II.
The decision to withdraw the AS90, originally slated to remain in service until the 2030s, was accelerated in response to both the growing demand from Kyiv and the British military’s ongoing modernization efforts. With approximately 68 AS90 units transferred to Ukraine in phases since 2023, the platform that once thundered across Iraqi deserts and NATO training grounds in Eastern Europe is now serving on the contested front lines of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.
This handover marks not a vacuum in UK artillery capability but the beginning of a significant transformation. The AS90’s retirement is part of a broader strategic pivot—one that replaces aging tracked systems with nimble, precise, and highly automated platforms like Sweden’s Archer and, eventually, the German-British RCH 155.
First delivered to the British Army in 1992, the AS90—short for “Artillery System for the 1990s”—was a product of Cold War engineering that survived far beyond its original time frame. Developed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, it quickly became one of NATO’s most respected self-propelled artillery systems. Built for mobility, crew protection, and high-volume fire support, the AS90’s role was simple: deliver heavy artillery support to mechanized and armored formations.
In conflicts like the Iraq War in 2003, the AS90 demonstrated its reliability under combat conditions, offering consistent, high-volume barrages in support of advancing ground troops. It also became a regular fixture in NATO training operations, from the Salisbury Plain to the forests of Poland. Yet despite its battle-tested credentials, the AS90 was increasingly overshadowed by more modern systems boasting longer ranges, greater automation, and networked fire control.
Still, the AS90 had staying power. Its key strengths included a fully enclosed armored chassis for crew protection, a semi-automatic loading system, and a fire rate of up to six rounds per minute. It could fire conventional 155mm shells up to 25km—a respectable range in the 1990s but modest by contemporary standards. In its prime, it was formidable; by 2020, however, it was becoming outdated in the face of faster, smarter, and deadlier adversaries.
The United Kingdom’s decision to send its AS90s to Ukraine was not made lightly. As Kyiv’s forces struggled to hold the line against Russia’s superior artillery quantities, British defense officials identified the AS90s as an immediate solution—capable of delivering Western-standard firepower quickly and without a lengthy training curve.
In total, the UK transferred 68 AS90s between 2023 and 2024. The first batch of 32 was delivered in early 2023, followed by a larger tranche of 36 systems in 2024. Some units arrived in combat-ready condition, while others were designated as spare parts donors, essential for maintaining a functional fleet under combat conditions.
These howitzers were integrated into several of Ukraine’s newly formed and reconstituted brigades, including the 58th Separate Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 117th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, and the 151st Mechanized Brigade. Each of these formations plays a vital role along the sprawling Eastern front, particularly in the Donbas region where entrenched, positional warfare has become the norm.
“While not the newest system on the battlefield, the AS90 offers Ukraine a dependable and interoperable tool for medium-range fire support,” said a senior British defense analyst. “It’s robust, relatively simple to operate, and crucially, it uses NATO-standard 155mm ammunition.”
With the AS90 now out of British service, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has embarked on a dual-track approach to modernize its artillery force. The first leg of this transition is the acquisition of the Swedish Archer artillery system, which will serve as an interim capability.
The Archer is a wheeled, highly automated 155mm self-propelled gun mounted on a 6×6 chassis. It offers several major improvements over the AS90: a maximum firing range of up to 50km with extended-range munitions, rapid deployment and redeployment in under 30 seconds, and operation by a crew of just three to four. Perhaps most importantly in the age of drone warfare and counter-battery radar, the Archer’s “shoot and scoot” capability makes it highly survivable.
The UK has procured 14 Archer systems to be integrated into the Royal Horse Artillery’s 1st Regiment, based in Larkhill. These units have already begun taking part in live-fire exercises alongside NATO partners and will remain in service until the end of the decade.
“The Archer gives us a leap in capability,” said Brigadier Mark Turner of the Royal Artillery. “It’s a far cry from the tracked systems of the past—quicker, more precise, and better protected in today’s sensor-saturated battlefield.”
Looking further ahead, Britain is investing in a more permanent replacement: the RCH 155, a new-generation artillery system co-developed with Germany. The RCH 155 is a modular platform built on the Boxer armored vehicle and features an uncrewed turret mounting a 155mm cannon. The gun is operated remotely, allowing the crew to remain safely inside the vehicle’s armored hull.
Under the UK’s Mobile Fires Platform program, the RCH 155 is scheduled to begin entering service from 2029, eventually replacing the Archer fleet. Production will be divided between the UK and Germany, with the gun and turret manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann in Germany, and the Boxer chassis assembled by RBSL (Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land) in the UK.
This partnership reflects broader trends in NATO’s artillery modernization. Countries like France (with Caesar), Germany (with PzH 2000 and RCH 155), and the United States (with Extended Range Cannon Artillery) are all pursuing systems that emphasize mobility, automation, and precision over sheer volume.
The RCH 155 will allow Britain to field a 21st-century artillery capability—networked, modular, and ready for multi-domain operations.
As for Ukraine, the AS90 arrives not as a relic but as a welcome reinforcement. Ukrainian artillery commanders have praised the system’s reliability and protective design, which offers a degree of crew survivability not present in many Soviet-era systems. While the AS90 lacks the range and speed of newer models, it is perfectly suited for the kind of attritional warfare dominating parts of the Eastern and Southern fronts.
In particular, its semi-automatic loader allows for rapid, concentrated fire—a key advantage in suppressing Russian fortifications or interdicting supply lines. The integration into Ukraine’s artillery network has not been seamless, given differences in training, logistics, and digital fire control systems, but Kyiv’s forces have proven adaptable.
“The AS90 is old, but it’s not obsolete,” said a Ukrainian officer operating the system near Sloviansk. “We’ve used worse. This gives us a much-needed boost in medium-range capability.”
The AS90’s story is one of evolution. From a Cold War design to a Gulf War veteran, and now a frontline asset in Ukraine’s existential struggle, it reflects the changing face of warfare over the past 30 years. Its retirement by the UK does not diminish its legacy—it enhances it, offering one final contribution on a battlefield where artillery is once again the king of combat.
For Britain, the transition away from the AS90 marks more than just a technical upgrade. It signals a philosophical shift toward agility, survivability, and integrated warfare. Platforms like the Archer and RCH 155 are not merely successors; they are the foundation of a future where data-driven precision, not raw firepower, defines victory.
As NATO militaries confront new realities—drone swarms, hypersonic threats, and peer-state competition—the British Army’s pivot represents a recognition that artillery, like every other domain, must innovate or become irrelevant.
With its steel hull, thunderous recoil, and decades of faithful service, the AS90 now takes its place in the annals of British military history. It was never the flashiest platform, nor the most technologically advanced. But it was reliable, tough, and capable—an artilleryman’s tool in every sense.
