Germany finally made the decision. New howitzers are coming
Germany has decided to acquire a new RCH 155 howitzer, which will be procured under a contract planned for the first half of 2024. We explain its uniqueness.
As reported by the Soldier & Technology portal, Germany has chosen one of two concepts for a wheeled howitzer for the Bundeswehr. Under the ZukSysIndF program, (short for the German. future artillery system of indirect fire of medium range) a need for 168 new howitzers was reported, but the currently available funds of 1.3-1.4 billion euros are only enough for half this number or even less.
Internal sources from the Federal Ministry of Defense report a contract signing in the first half of 2024, with deliveries planned between 2026-2031. The contract had two competing concepts, one of which was related to the RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer from the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) consortium, and the other was a project from Rheinmetall where the world's longest 155mm caliber cannon of 60 calibers (approx. 30.5 feet) was mounted on the chassis of a ten-wheeled truck from the HX3 family.
The main criteria for the German's choice was the level of technological maturity allowing for an immediate order where the RCH 155 howitzer performed significantly better than the Rheinmetall project. The first system passed all tests at the beginning of 2023, and the second one, despite its successes, still requires development.
RCH 155 howitzer - another stage in the evolution of self-propelled artillery
Today's self-propelled howitzers in the form of Polish Krab, German PzH 2000, Slovak Zuzana 2 or French Caesar are designed according to the principle of capturing and leaving the fire position as quickly as possible, as shots are fired only after stopping.
This makes it so that with the era of artillery radars and digitally integrated artillery systems, even a few seconds delay in leaving the station could end in disaster.
What if you could fire while moving? This is exactly what German engineers thought, who were the first in the world to develop an artillery system capable of firing while moving at a speed of 18.6 mph. Such a functionality of the RCH 155 makes it in practice immune to counter-battery fire.
The RCH 155 is composed of the GTK Boxer transport chassis and a fully automated AGM (Artillerie-Geschütz-Modul) turret, which has an automatic loading system for not only projectiles, but also powder charges. This has reduced the operation of the howitzer to just two soldiers, and it's possible that a remotely controlled version will be developed in the future.
The deployed 155 mm cannon is 52 calibers in length (about 26 feet) and can fire up to 9 rounds/min. It has the capability of firing a five-round MRSI salvo. The range of impact varies with the type of ammunition used, ranging from 18.64 miles for the cheapest rounds like DM121 or OFd MKM, to 24.85 miles for rounds with a gas generator, and ending up to 37.28 miles for rounds with a rocket booster of the M549A1 type.
Additionally, the RCH 155, much like the PzH 2000, is also capable of utilizing the experimental Vulcano 155 GLR ammunition capable of hitting a target at a distance of up to 43-50 miles with accuracy below 10 feet.
It's also worth mentioning that Germany won't be the first user of this system, as there are currently 18 units being produced that are funded for Ukraine. This will be an ideal experimental ground for this visionary design, and only time will tell if it won't repeat the problems of PzH 2000.
