Army has no heavy guns left in Britain after giving them all to Ukraine
THE Army has no heavy guns left in Britain after giving them all to Ukraine.
Defence chiefs are scrambling to buy replacements after pledging their 30 working AS90s to Kyiv.
Korean K9 Thunders and Swedish Archer guns are on a shortlist to replace them, if the Treasury unlocks cash.
Top Brass insist the AS90s are best used blasting Putin’s invaders.
A source said: “These guns were designed to fight Russian forces. No one needs them more than Ukraine.”
The self-propelled artillery pieces can blast targets 15 miles away with 155mm shells.
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But the decision to give them away has stripped two Royal Artillery regiments, based on Salisbury Plain, Wilts, of all their working weapons.
An artillery source said: “If gunners don’t have guns we can’t fight, we can’t train.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace vowed to rush forward replacements with an £800million “mobile fires programme”.
But the new guns are not due until 2029, at the earliest.
The Army favours an “off-the-shelf” purchase for speed.
The wheeled Swedish Archer has double the AS90’s range.
The tracked K9 Thunder is more accurate and can fire 25 miles.
The UK bought 179 AS90s in the 1990s but most have been stripped for parts.
UK troops will continue to operate six AS90 in Estonia, as part of a Nato presence to deter further Russian aggression.
The MoD said it is looking at short-term and long-term fixes.