Rheinmetall Will Build All 72 British RCH 155 Gun Systems at Telford
Telford, 31 July 2026
Key points
- Rheinmetall will build 72 complete 155 mm L/52 RC weapon systems for the British Army's RCH 155 wheeled howitzers at its new gun factory in Telford, which is being brought into operation in stages
- The delivery order was placed in the second quarter of 2026, in the low three-digit million-euro range
- Scope: 72 elevating masses and on-board tooling, plus non-recurring support in preparing training material and technical documentation
- Deliveries are scheduled between May 2028 and June 2031, and follow verification of the weapon system, which Germany and the United Kingdom are still qualifying
- The RCH 155 combines the drive module of the GTK Boxer with an enhanced, fully automated version of the PzH 2000 weapon system; ARTEC, the Rheinmetall–KNDS Deutschland joint venture, supplies the complete vehicles
Rheinmetall will manufacture the complete 155 mm L/52 RC weapon systems for all 72 of the British Army's RCH 155 howitzers at its new Telford gun factory, under a delivery order placed in the second quarter of 2026 and running to June 2031.
The RCH 155 is an assembly of two proven components rather than a new design: the drive module of the Boxer wheeled armoured vehicle beneath an enhanced, fully automated derivative of the PzH 2000's gun. This order covers the second of those — the elevating mass, which is the gun and its cradle as a unit — for all 72 vehicles Britain ordered in May, with on-board tooling, training-material support and technical documentation alongside. Complete vehicles come from ARTEC, the Rheinmetall and KNDS Deutschland joint venture.
The dates carry a condition. Deliveries run from May 2028 to June 2031, and Rheinmetall states they follow verification: the weapon system is still being qualified jointly by Germany and the United Kingdom, so the schedule sits behind a trials gate neither government has dated publicly.
What was settled here is where the gun is made, and that was a policy choice before it was a contract. The AS-90 replacement's firepower will be British-built at a factory Rheinmetall is still commissioning, which means the UK is taking on the artillery-barrel capability it had largely let go — and taking it on inside a German prime's plant rather than a national one. Großwald recorded the order in Signal No. 115. Two things are checkable and neither has been stated: when the joint German–British qualification closes, and whether Telford reaches full operation in time for the May 2028 first delivery.
Related · The British RCH 155 programme
