[3][4] The main piece of the system is a fully automated 155 mm L52 (52-calibre-long) gun-howitzer and a M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon station mounted on a modified 6×6 chassis of the Volvo A30D all-terrain articulated hauler.

By 2004, two prototypes had been ordered based on a lengthened version of the FH 77B mounted on a modified Volvo Construction Equipment A30D six-wheel drive articulated haul truck.

In September 2006, BAE Systems Bofors received a SEK 40 million contract from the FMV (Försvarets materielverk, Swedish Defence Materiel Administration) for detailed design work on the Archer program.

[12] The Swedish Army received its first four pre-serial production FH-77 BW L52 Archer systems on 23 September 2013,[13][14] and the first guns finally entered service on 1 February 2016.

[16] On 23 January 2020, Janes Information Services reported that BAE Systems Bofors had begun trials for the HX2 variant.

Operators control the entire gun system in any weather from the safety of the armoured vehicle cabin which is fitted with bullet and fragmentation-proof windows.

[18] The system also includes a munition carrier consisting of a removable, modified standard container mounted on a ballistic-proofed all-terrain lorry.

The vehicle can reach road speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), is capable of traversing snow up to a depth of one metre (3.3 ft), is rail transportable and can be air-transported in Boeing C-17 Globemaster III or Airbus A400M Atlas aircraft.

[18] A large hydraulically operated stabilizer is installed in the rear of the chassis and is lowered with the vehicle in the selected firing position.

In contrast to the towed D-20's manual operation the Ukrainian soldier praised the automation and rapid emplacement of the FH77BW, describing it as "Sniper Artillery" for its one shot - one kill ability.

[68] In February 2024 an Archer artillery system was hit by a Russian loitering munition close to the city of Kupiansk.

[69] In March 2024 a reconnaissance unit of the Ukrainian 63rd Mechanized Brigade detected multiple Russian D-20 howitzers near the city of Kreminna.

The brigade's artillerymen, operating an FH77BW Archer howitzer successfully destroyed a Russian 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled artillery system near the village of Chervonopopivka.