On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the UK Ministry of Defence announced that the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d’armement, OCCAR), on behalf of the logistics agency DE&S (Defence Equipment & Support), had signed a contract worth almost 1 billion GBP with the ARTEC GmbH consortium (ARmoured vehicle TEChnology, comprising Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH, Rheinmetall Defence Nederland, and KNDS Deutschland in a 64:36 ratio) for the delivery of 72 serial-production examples of the 155-mm RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer.
Photo: DE&S
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“This major investment is defence delivering for the battlefield and for Britain’s economy. By securing next-generation artillery with Germany, not only are we rearming to strengthen NATO against growing Russian aggression but also creating highly skilled jobs here in Britain. This is what we mean when we say defence is an engine for growth – investment in our security that powers new jobs across the country.”
German Federal Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, said:
“The RCH 155 will significantly enhance the artillery’s firepower, safety and flexibility. It is a vital element of modern artillery support. Together with the United Kingdom, we are demonstrating that we take interoperability within NATO seriously and are putting it into practice. At the same time, we are underlining the close defence cooperation between Germany and the UK. My British counterpart John Healey and I are keeping our word and are implementing the Trinity House Arrangement step by step. Joint exercises and training will bring our armed forces even closer together. This will deepen military cooperation in the long term and improve our operational readiness – for greater security in Europe.”
The contract was preceded by agreements signed on March 13 this year, worth 53 million GBP, for the production of components for a batch of 37 serial-production howitzers, and on December 28, 2025, worth 52 million GBP, for the delivery of three examples in the ECD, or Early Capability Demonstrator, configuration for trials and testing.
Plans to purchase the German howitzers were announced on April 24, 2024. Under the MFP, or Mobile Fires Platform, program, the acquisition of the 72 systems in question was planned, although the requirement is estimated at 200–240, while 116 had initially been mentioned. They will replace all VSEL AS90 Braveheart tracked howitzers transferred to Ukraine, 68 examples plus spare parts, and complement the 14 wheeled Archer systems bought from Sweden.
The British contracts are part of a German framework order for 500 howitzers, of which 233 will go to the Bundeswehr, with the first batch of 84 guns approved on December 18, 2025, and 267 to interested partners. The system was selected in 2023 under the German Zukünftiges System Indirektes Feuer mittlere Reichweite, or ZukSysIndF mRw, program, meaning Future Medium-Range Indirect Fire System.
It is worth emphasizing that 30 million GBP from the value of the March contract will be allocated to supporting the development of the new Gun Hall barrel-production facility of Germany’s Rheinmetall AG group in Telford, Shropshire. The facility is expected to create around 100 highly skilled jobs, as well as support further employment across the wider UK supply chain. Earlier, GBP 420 million was invested in the supply chain involving the Sheffield Forgemasters steelworks in Sheffield, increasing employment to 720 jobs.
As a reminder, construction of the Telford facility was announced on October 23, 2024, under the aforementioned British-German Trinity House defense agreement, while the location and details of the investment were made public on May 19, 2025. The next stage of the contract will involve Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land, a joint venture between Rheinmetall AG and BAE Systems, also based in Telford, which will deliver the Boxer Drive Module power modules, comprising the chassis, engine and drivetrain. Together with the AGM, or Artillerie-Geschütz-Modul, artillery module, consisting of the turret and weapon system, they make up the RCH 155 system.
RCH 155 AGM
As mentioned, the RCH 155 AGM is essentially a turret system that can be integrated with various chassis. The baseline platform is the GTK Boxer 8×8 offered by KMW, but in May 2021 Rheinmetall AG unveiled the 155-mm wheeled Radhaubitze howitzer in a 10×10 drive configuration, with a modified RCH 155 AGM module (RMMV HX3 unveiled).
It is a fully automated 52-caliber howitzer with a maximum range of up to 54 km when using guided ammunition, such as the Leonardo Vulcano 155 GLR or M982 Excalibur, and an ammunition load of up to 30 rounds, along with 144 modular propelling charges. Its rate of fire is nine rounds per minute. Depending on the chassis, the system’s maximum combat weight is less than 39 tonnes for the GTK Boxer 8×8. Importantly, the RCH 155 AGM uses a howitzer developed by Rheinmetall AG.
In addition to Germany and the United Kingdom, Qatar, likely 12 systems as part of an exchange for PzH 2000 howitzers for Ukraine, and Switzerland, likely 32 systems on the new Piranha IV Heavy Mission Carrier 10×10 chassis, have so far decided to purchase RCH 155 AGM howitzers, while Germany is financing 54 systems for Ukraine. Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Spain, which has a requirement for 36 systems, have expressed interest in the howitzers. They are also being offered in the United States under the new SPH-M, or Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization, program.