The decision to create AS-90 self-propelled guns for the British army was made in 1986 after the cancellation of the international program for the development of the SP70 155-mm howitzer. The conversion of this easy-to-use howitzer into a modern AS-90 artillery rig was carried out by Vickers Shipbuilding and Senieering.

The new howitzer was adopted in 1992, and the following year the Royal Artillery received the first serial samples from a total batch of 179 units ordered. AS-90 replaced all other types of artillery in the British army – both self-propelled and in reserve, with the exception of light howitzers L118 and RSV.

The design of the AS-90 continues to be improved. The most important of these was the replacement of the old 155 mm L/39 barrel with a new 52 caliber (just over 8 meters) long. As a result, the maximum firing range has increased significantly – initially up to 24.7 km, and with the introduction of the modernized version of the L15 high-explosive fragmentation ammunition – up to 30 km. Barrels designed to fire any ammunition that meets NATO standards.

On the right and left sides of the tower are rectangular hatches closed with armored doors. A 7.62 mm machine gun is installed on the roof of the tower for firing at air and ground targets. The hull and turret of the howitzer are covered with a 17 mm layer of steel armor. The rotation of the tower is carried out thanks to electric drives, in case of failure – manual emergency drive.

The power plant consists of the following main components: a VTA-903T-660 diesel engine from the American company Cummins and an automatic transmission LSG 2000 from the German company Renk.

To make the most of the high ballistics of the new barrel, the AS-90 howitzer is equipped with a sighting system that controls electromechanisms for turning the turret, vertical weapon guidance and a set of modern computer systems ending with the last. navigation and communication systems. Also, a new charging machine is integrated into the onboard electronics complex, which uses modular projectile charges instead of conventional ones.

At the same time, on-board electronics allow each AS-90 howitzer to become an autonomous combat unit. The gun can fire 3-shot bursts of 10 seconds, or provide a more even rate of fire of 18 shots in three minutes, or fire 2 shots per minute for an hour in continuous mode. The ammunition consists of 48 shots – 31 in the tower and 17 in the body of the self-propelled gun.