Ukraine Receives First RCH 155 Self-Propelled Howitzer — German Aid to Ukraine

Ukraine’s Defense Forces have received the first RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled artillery system.

The German Aid to Ukraine reported this.

Under a contract signed with the German manufacturer, Ukraine is to receive 54 of these artillery systems.

Information about the delivery emerged after Nicholas Drummond, an adviser to the German division of KNDS, reported on his X account in July 2026 that the new artillery system had already undergone combat testing.

Despite the signing of the first contract for 18 systems in 2022, the company was unable to manufacture them on time. In addition, Ukraine and Germany signed two more contracts in 2024 for the delivery of 18+18 RCH 155 artillery systems.

In January 2025, KNDS and then-German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius handed over the first of the 54 RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine’s ambassador in Kassel. At the time, it was reported that the system would be used to train Ukrainian crews.

In June 2025, it became known that deliveries of the first RCH 155 artillery systems had originally been planned for April but were again postponed indefinitely due to delays in preparations.

Later, in August 2025, the RCH 155 self-propelled artillery systems intended for Ukraine were being modified based on recommendations from Ukrainian servicemen.

Technical issues are still arising as the system’s initial shortcomings are addressed, with specialists resolving them in close cooperation with the Ukrainian side.

In March 2026, a German Federal Ministry of Defence report following Boris Pistorius’ visit to the artillery school in Idar-Oberstein revealed that Germany had completed training for more than 600 Ukrainian service members, who had learned to operate the modern RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled artillery systems.

Apart from Ukraine, firm contracts for the delivery of these systems have so far been signed with the United Kingdom and Qatar. Switzerland has also ordered the artillery module for installation on its own Piranha 10×10 platform.

The United Kingdom has ordered 72 artillery systems, with deliveries scheduled to begin only in 2028 with a test vehicle to be used for crew training.

Switzerland, meanwhile, has ordered 32 artillery systems.

RCH 155

The RCH 155 was developed on the chassis of the GTK Boxer 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carrier. The system features an automated AGM artillery turret module with the gun system of the German PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer.

The AGM module is unmanned, so the RCH 155 crew consists of only two people. The AGM module carries 30 rounds.

The vehicle has a combat weight of 39 tons, while the AGM module weighs 12.5 tons.

The vehicle is powered by an 815-hp MTU diesel engine. The manufacturer states that its firing range is 40 kilometers, extending to 52 kilometers with V-LAP projectiles. The self-propelled howitzer can also use long-range VULCANO and EXCALIBUR projectiles.

More information in the article “RCH 155 — The Self-Propelled Howitzer That Fires While Moving.”