Latvia buys Morana howitzers, passing on Sweden’s Archer

Latvia’s government decided on Sept. 15 to buy Czech-made 155mm wheeled howitzers for the National Armed Forces, choosing the Morana system from Excalibur Army after Sweden’s competing Archer howitzer proved too costly and slow to deliver under the country’s current defense budget.

The Cabinet of Ministers based its decision on the cost of the offers, delivery timelines, operational capability and how much of the work would involve Latvian industry. The howitzers will expand the National Armed Forces’ indirect fire support units, which the Ministry of Defence said will substantially strengthen the country’s deterrence and defense capability.

Latvia’s Ministry of Defence opened market research into 155mm wheeled artillery systems in May 2024. After reviewing initial offers, it continued talks with two companies: Sweden’s BAE Systems Bofors, which makes the Archer system, and the Czech Republic’s Excalibur Army, which builds the Morana. Latvia signed a letter of intent with Sweden in June 2025, committing to eventually negotiate a contract for the Archer.

That plan changed as the process continued. The ministry concluded that fielding the Archer would require more financial resources than the defense sector currently has available, and its delivery timelines ran longer than Latvia’s approved defense plans could accommodate. Excalibur Army, meanwhile, offered what the ministry called an operationally equivalent system on better price and delivery terms, letting the National Armed Forces build up its artillery capability considerably faster. The Czech offer also builds local industry participation directly into the contract, an advantage the Swedish proposal did not match.

The Morana is a 155mm, 52-caliber howitzer mounted on a Tatra Force 8×8 truck chassis, built by Excalibur Army as a successor to the Czechoslovak-era DANA gun family. It uses an automated loading system that Excalibur Army says can fire six rounds in the first minute and five rounds per minute in sustained fire, with a maximum range of roughly 41.5 km (26 miles) using extended-range ammunition. Its three- to four-person crew works from an armored cab rated to STANAG 4569 Level 2 protection, and the system carries a 12.7mm remote weapon station for self-defense. A U.S. Army delegation visited Excalibur Army’s production site in the Czech Republic in April to evaluate the Morana as a potential contender for the U.S. Army’s own wheeled howitzer program, alongside the French CAESAR and Swedish Archer.

Latvia’s decision does not end its defense relationship with Sweden. The Ministry of Defence said Sweden remains one of Latvia’s strategic defense partners, pointing to a defense cooperation roadmap the two countries signed in January 2026 covering joint air, sea and land activities, Swedish military participation in NATO’s multinational brigade in Latvia, joint exercises and further capability development. Latvia’s National Armed Forces have also ordered Saab Dynamics’ RBS 70 NG short-range air defense system from Sweden, and the Latvian Air Force received Saab’s Giraffe 1X airspace surveillance radar in late 2025.