The Swedish Archer self-propelled howitzer is ultra-fast, highly mobile, long-range, and accurate — and it’s part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s arsenal. In service since 2023. Thank you, Sweden! 🇺🇦🤝🇸🇪 More details:

🚨🇨🇳 TAIWAN SEPARATISTS IN PANIC: CHINA GIVES TAIWAN-FACING BRIGADE ITS OWN PLZ-05 LONG-RANGE HOWITZERS China has pushed one of its most powerful artillery systems down from group-army formations to a heavy combined-arms brigade in the Eastern Theater Command. A brigade under the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) 71st Group Army received a batch of PLZ-05 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers over the past two months, replacing older 122mm guns, and has already completed its first live-fire test. It is the first publicly confirmed case of PLZ-05s being assigned directly at brigade level. Instead of waiting for higher command to attach a separate long-range artillery formation, the brigade now controls its own heavy firepower. 🔸 Target coordinates from reconnaissance drones, radars and forward observers can be sent directly to the brigade’s guns, shortening the time between detecting a target and opening fire. 🔸 The PLZ-05’s automatic loader supports a maximum rate of around 8–10 rounds per minute. With BeiDou-guided WS-35 projectiles, it can strike targets at distances of up to 100 km, dramatically expanding the brigade’s reach compared with its older 122mm artillery. 🔸 Its tracked chassis allows the howitzers to move alongside tanks and infantry fighting vehicles across difficult terrain while providing greater crew protection than lighter truck-mounted guns. 🔸 The brown desert camouflage on the newly delivered batch suggests that the howitzers may have been transferred from the Western Theater Command, where lighter PCL-181 truck-mounted systems are better suited to long road movements and mountainous terrain. 🔸 The 71st Group Army belongs to the Eastern Theater Command, responsible for operations around the Taiwan Strait. In a conflict, its PLZ-05s could provide sustained fire against coastal defenses, artillery positions, command posts and supply hubs once these targets are within range. China is also testing an experimental 155mm naval gun. If it becomes compatible with existing army ammunition, the PLA Ground Force and Navy could eventually draw on a broader common stock of modern 155mm shells. China is giving frontline brigades firepower previously controlled at a higher level, reducing response times and allowing them to fight more independently. Could Taiwan’s defenses withstand sustained fire once PLA brigades bring their own PLZ-05s into range?

What characteristics do you need to become a successful researcher? Economic sciences laureate Peter Howitt shared his thoughts: "Curiosity is number one. And the ability to pursue through failure, because most of what I ever tried didn’t work out. So you just have to keep trying. There’s an old saying that if at first you don’t succeed you should redefine the question. Start looking somewhere else. Keep on searching around until you find something that really works. Persistence is important." Hear more in our interview with Howitt:

A PR attempt goes wrong for German defense minister. "During a visit to the KNDS plant in Kassel, the Defense Minister spoke about the German wheeled howitzer RCH-155 and said: ‘The wheeled howitzer is very popular in Ukraine.’ Until now, it had never been officially confirmed that the state-of-the-art weapon system had actually been delivered to Ukraine," Bild reports. Though considering track record of EU weapons in Ukraine, perhaps a brag, not a leak.