Britain’s new howitzers to begin arriving in two years

The British Army’s 72 new RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers will be delivered individually rather than in tranches, with deliveries scheduled to take place between 2028 and 2032, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard has told Parliament.

The answer, given on 21 May in response to a written question from Ben Obese-Jecty MP for Huntingdon, clarified the delivery structure of the nearly £1 billion contract awarded by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation on behalf of the British Army to ARTEC GmbH, a joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall.

The RCH 155 is a remote-controlled self-propelled artillery system mounted on a BOXER chassis, capable of firing eight rounds per minute at targets up to 70 kilometres away. It can redeploy at speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour, and its automated turret allows operation by just two soldiers from within the crew compartment. The contract covers 72 systems alongside initial training and in-service support, with a minimal deployable capability to be achieved before the end of the decade.

The programme has significant UK industrial content. Weapon system components including the barrel, breech, recoil system, and trunnions will be manufactured at Rheinmetall’s large-calibre production facility in Telford, using British steel supplied by Sheffield Forgemasters. The BOXER drive module will be manufactured by KNDS UK in Stockport. The programme is expected to create 100 new skilled jobs at the Telford facility, support 100 jobs in Stockport, and back a further 300 across the wider supply chain.

The RCH 155 directly replaces the AS90 self-propelled howitzers donated to Ukraine in 2023. Deputy Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton described the contract as the first significant milestone in replenishing the resulting capability gap. “Britain answered the call for aid by providing artillery systems to Ukraine at the outbreak of the war. We knew the risk, the gap in our warfighting capability, that this would present.” The Archer artillery system, procured as an interim capability, will continue to serve until the RCH 155 enters service.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the procurement demonstrated that defence spending could serve economic as well as security purposes. “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.” German Federal Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius said the joint procurement showed practical commitment to alliance interoperability. “Together with the United Kingdom, we are demonstrating that we take interoperability within NATO seriously and are putting it into practice.”

The contract builds on the Trinity House Agreement signed between the UK and Germany in October 2024, and follows a £52 million Early Capability Demonstrator contract signed in December 2025 and a £53 million Long Lead Item procurement contract signed earlier this year.