Rheinmetall has secured a contract to supply the weapon systems for the 72 Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 (RCH 155) vehicles ordered by the UK in May.
Under the three-digit-million-euro contract, the company will supply 72 elevating masses, onboard tools, and associated services. Manufacturing will take place at Rheinmetall’s new gun production facility in Telford, UK.
The German firm previously said it would use British steel supplied by Sheffield Forgemasters for the program, supporting around 100 jobs in Telford and about 300 across the wider UK supply chain.
ARTEC, the KNDS-Rheinmetall joint venture, was previously awarded a nearly 1-billion-pound ($1.35-billion) contract to deliver the howitzers. The first deliveries are scheduled for 2028, with a minimum deployable capability expected before the end of the decade.
The acquisition is part of the Mobile Fires Platform program to replace the British Army’s aging AS-90 155mm self-propelled howitzers. The UK donated 32 AS-90s to Ukraine in 2023, creating a capability gap that was partially filled by the procurement of 14 Archer wheeled artillery systems.
RCH 155 Howitzer
The RCH 155 combines the Boxer 8×8 armored vehicle with an unmanned, fully automated turret based on the combat-proven Panzerhaubitze 2000 weapon system.
Operated by a two-person crew from within the protected cabin, the 39-ton system can reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour, enabling rapid repositioning to improve survivability against counterfire.
Rheinmetall says the RCH 155 is the world’s only turreted howitzer capable of accurately firing on the move, using stabilization technology derived from main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
The turret carries 30 pre-fuzed rounds and 144 modular charges — about 50 percent more ammunition than conventional truck-mounted systems — and can fire up to eight rounds per minute at targets beyond 70 kilometers (42 miles).
