The British Army has procured 37 RCH 155 remote-controlled 155mm howitzers to restore its artillery capabilities after donating its AS-90 systems to Ukraine.
The contract, valued at £53 million ($70 million), was awarded by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation to ARTEC for long-lead manufacturing. ARTEC is jointly owned by KNDS Deutschland, Rheinmetall Landsysteme, and Rheinmetall Defence Nederland BV.
The RCH 155 platform consists of the Boxer vehicle chassis paired with an advanced artillery gun module that includes the turret and weapon system. The contract focuses on essential elements such as the gun barrel, muzzle brake, breech mechanism, recoil assembly, and trunnions.
Of the total investment, £30 million ($40 million) will be allocated to establishing Rheinmetall’s Gun Hall facility in Telford, which is projected to create around 100 skilled jobs and support broader supply chain employment. The initiative is designed to build sovereign capability in gun barrel manufacturing and enable scalable production of large-caliber systems within the UK.
This development follows a previous £52-million ($69-million) agreement signed in December for three prototype vehicles intended for joint UK-Germany testing, and aligns with the Trinity House Agreement concluded in October 2024.
The RCH 155 delivers a combination of mobility, protection, and firepower by integrating the automated Artillery Gun Module onto the Boxer platform. The 39-ton system can fire up to eight rounds per minute, reach speeds of 100 km/h, and strike targets beyond 70 kilometers depending on the ammunition type. With a two-person crew and high automation, it offers an operational range of approximately 700 kilometers.
