The RCH 155 Self-Propelled Howitzer. Source: KMW.
On December 7, the German government officially confirmed the sale of 18 RCH 155 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
The advanced howitzers were the most notable addition in the last update to the German list of military equipment delivered or in the process of being delivered to Kiev forces.
The German government will reportedly fund the $227 million sale, including training, spare parts and ammunition. The delivery is expected to take at least 30 months to begin.
The sale was first reported by the German news outlet Die Welt on September 17, who said at the time that Germany agreed to supply Ukraine with RCH-155 howitzers manufactured by defense company Kraus-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) after weeks of talks.
The RCH-155 is based on the wheeled chassis of the Boxer 8×8 multirole armored vehicle. The rear of the RCH-155 is fitted with a remotely operated turret armed with a Rheinmetall L52 155 mm gun. The howitzer can carry a total of 30 rounds of ammunition and is able to fire all standard 155 mm NATO rounds.
It can fire up to right rounds per minute to a range of up to 40 kilometers with standard ammunition. An increased range of up to 56 kilometers is possible with Very Long-range Artillery Projectiles (VLAP).
The howitzer is based on technology used in the KMW’s Panzerhaubitze 2000, which has already been supplied to Ukraine by Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
Germany and other NATO states have supplied Ukraine with more than 350 howitzers since the beginning of the Russian special military operation in the country. Despite of this, Kiev forces are still outgunned by the Russian Missile Troops and Artillery.
