On Friday, March 13, 2026, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s logistics agency, DE&S (Defence Equipment & Support), announced that it had signed a contract worth 53 million GBP, via the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR), with the ARTEC GmbH (ARmoured vehicle TEChnology) consortium – comprising Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH, Rheinmetall Defence Nederland, and KNDS Deutschland in a 64:36 ratio – for the production of components for a batch of 37 RCH 155 (Remote Controlled Howitzer) 155 mm self-propelled howitzers.
Photos: DE&S via X
Earlier, on December 28, 2025, three units in the ECD (Early Capability Demonstrator) configuration were ordered for 52 million GBP for trials and testing prior to initiating the procurement process for British Army units.
The RCH 155 consists of two main components: the chassis, i.e., the Boxer Drive Module, and the artillery module, AGM (Artillerie-Geschütz-Modul). The AGM itself consists of the turret and the weapon system. Under the latest contract, sets of the latter have been ordered – namely the barrel, muzzle brake, breech, recoil system, and trunnions (mounting points to the turret).
The 30 million GBP from the value will be allocated to support the development of a new Gun Hall barrel production facility by the German group Rheinmetall AG in Telford, Shropshire, which is expected to create around 100 highly skilled jobs, as well as sustain further employment across the wider UK supply chain. The construction of the facility was announced on October 23, 2024, as part of the UK–Germany Trinity House defense agreement, while the location and details of the investment were made public on May 19, 2025. At a later stage of the contract, the joint venture Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (Rheinmetall AG and BAE Systems), also based in Telford, will participate by supplying the drive modules.
Brigadier Toby Lambert, Head of International, Industry and Prosperity at British Army Headquarters, said:
“This contract is really great news – not only for our soldiers, but for the UK’s ever-increasing industrial base. It demonstrates a strengthening of our supply chains and delivers on our commitments made in the Trinity House Agreement with our close ally, Germany. The second order impacts of this award are far-reaching: the creation of high-skilled jobs combined with the drive for continued innovation will undoubtedly stimulate further investment in Defence. This demonstrates another key step towards the Army’s continual modernisation programme, preparing our soldiers for the future fight.”
Plans to acquire the German howitzers were announced on April 24, 2024. Under the MFP (Mobile Fires Platform) program, the procurement of 72 units is planned, although the requirement is estimated at 200–240, while initially 116 were mentioned. They will replace all tracked VSEL AS90 Braveheart howitzers transferred to Ukraine (68 units plus spare parts) and complement 14 wheeled Archer systems repurchased from Sweden.
The British contracts are part of a German framework order covering 500 howitzers, of which 233 will go to the Bundeswehr (the first batch of 84 guns was approved on December 18, 2025), and 267 are intended for interested partners. The system was selected in 2023 under the German program Zukünftiges System Indirektes Feuer mittlere Reichweite (ZukSysIndF mRw), or Future Medium-Range Indirect Fire System.
So far, Qatar (likely 12 units as part of an exchange for PzH 2000 howitzers for Ukraine) and Switzerland (likely 32 units on the new Piranha IV Heavy Mission Carrier 10×10 chassis) have decided to procure the RCH 155 AGM, while Germany is financing 54 units for Ukraine. Interest in the howitzers has also been expressed by Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Spain (with a requirement for 36 units). They are also being offered in the United States under the new SPH-M (Self-Propelled Howitzer Modernization) program.
RCH 155 AGM
The RCH 155 AGM is, as mentioned, 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 presented the 155 mm wheeled howitzer Radhaubitze in a 10×10 drive configuration with a modified RCH 155 AGM module.
It is a fully automated 52-caliber howitzer with a maximum range of up to 54 km when using guided munitions (such as Leonardo Vulcano 155 GLR or M982 Excalibur), with an onboard ammunition capacity of up to 30 rounds (along with 144 modular propellant charges). The rate of fire is 9 rounds per minute. Depending on the chassis, the system’s maximum combat weight is under 39 tonnes (for the GTK Boxer 8×8). Notably, the RCH 155 AGM uses a howitzer developed by Rheinmetall AG.
Ordered: 37 weapons systems for RCH 155. ✅
Under a £53m contact to ARTEC GmbH by OCCAR, RCH 155 will eventually replace AS90 and will fire 8 rounds per minute at targets up to 70km away.
👉 £30m will go to @RheinmetallAG's manufacturing facility. More: https://t.co/yTjbhfuMXW pic.twitter.com/6w1pv6yFlA
— Defence Equipment & Support (@DefenceES) March 13, 2026