AS-90 Braveheart

AS-90 is the British Army's tracked 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. The British Army presents AS90 as a mobile artillery system, while WeaponSystems.net profiles the Braveheart upgrade concept around a longer 52-calibre gun. The system emerged from the need to modernize British field artillery with better mobility, protection, rate of fire, and NATO-standard ammunition compatibility.

AS-90 is designed to shoot and move with armored formations. A turreted 155 mm gun gives all-around traverse, while the tracked chassis provides cross-country mobility and crew protection. The Braveheart concept extended the design with a longer barrel for greater range. The underlying mission is fast, responsive indirect fire: arrive, fire a mission, displace, and avoid counter-battery attack.

In service, AS-90 has been a major part of British artillery capability. Its age and the changing counter-battery environment have increased pressure for replacement or upgrade, especially as long-range precision fires become more important. The system remains significant because it illustrates the late-Cold-War self-propelled artillery model that many armies are now updating for drone-surveilled, high-tempo battlefields.