The UK will acquire 72 RCH 155 howitzers to bridge a capability gap created after it donated all of its previous AS90 artillery to Ukraine.
The UK appears to be ignoring an earlier plan to acquire an RCH 155 demonstrator by 2028 to de-risk a future acquisition.
The UK has pushed through the procurement of 72 RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers (SPH), filling a capability gap in mobile long-range fires after donating the British Army’s entire AS90 155mm artillery fleet to Ukraine.
Announced in a 13 May release, the UK Government said the RCH 155 procurement, costing £1bn ($1.35bn), will include initial training and in-service support. The deal was awarded by the European Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation on behalf of the British Army to Artec, a joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall.
The deal has been expected, with a March 2026 contract announcement revealing that Artec had been awarded a £53m contract for long-lead production of 37 weapon system for the UK RCH 155 programme.
Prior to that, a £52m agreement was signed in December 2025 for three RCH 155 Early Capability Demonstrator Vehicles for joint testing with Germany.
These demonstrator platforms were intended to be delivered by Q2 2028 to de-risk technologies ahead of a full acquisition, a step the UK now appears to ignoring, given the first of the 72 RCH 155 systems ordered in the full contract will also be delivered the same year.
This raises the prospect of concurrent large-scale delivery of the platform with the testing and evaluation phase, as seen with the troubled Ajax armoured vehicle programme.
At the time of publishing, the UK Ministry of Defence had not responded to questions regarding the order, including whether this represents a ‘Batch 1’ contract, nor how many British Army regiments the 72 units will equip.
In recent service, the AS90 155mm artillery system equipped three field regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery. Given that the fleet numbers around 80 units, it is possible that a similar number of British Army units will operate the RCH 155 SPH.
The current small fleet of 14 Archer artillery systems, acquired as an interim capability to ensure British Army skills in long-range fires could be maintained, will be axed when the RCH 155 enters service from 2028.
These platforms could similarly be donated to Ukraine, which also operates a small number of Archer artillery systems.
Ukraine’s donated AS90 fleet has suffered a high attrition rate in its war against Russia, with at least 28 units destroyed according to open-source intelligence analysis conducted by Oryx.
The RCH 155 SPH consists of an uncrewed artillery gun module (AGM) mounted on the Boxer 8×8 armoured vehicle and can be operated by a crew of two personnel. The remotely operated AGM can deliver eight rounds per minute at ranges up to 70km depending on ammunition type.
At a per unit price, each of the RCH 155 SPH will cost £12.5m, significantly higher than the £7.5m cost for a single Archer 155mm artillery platform.
The UK Government stated in its original release that the weapon systems – the barrel, breech, recoil system and trunnions – will be manufactured at Rheinmetall’s large-calibre production Telford facility.
In addition, Rheinmetall is set to use steel supplied by Sheffield Forgemasters, while the Boxer drive module – chassis, engine, and drive train – will be manufactured by KNDS UK in Stockport.
This indicates the Boxer vehicle shells and additional components will be manufactured outside of the UK.
The fact that the RCH 155 requires a crew as low as just two operators could help the British Army, which is struggling for recruitment with personnel numbers at an all-time low.
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