Major General Dr. Christian Freuding from the Special Staff of Ukraine in the German Ministry of Defense announced that Germany is planning to deliver the RCH 155 (Remote Controlled Howitzer 155) self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine at the end of this year.
As announced by Freuding in a video published on the official YouTube channel of the German Army (Bundeswehr) on 15 August, Ukraine will become the first international user of this system, which is unique considering the fact that this system is not yet used operationally in any country in the world.
Germany had earlier declared that the country would provide Kyiv with a total of 36 RCH 155, but it has now been confirmed that they will be delivered this year.
A new generation of artillery
The RCH 155 is particularly special because this system belongs to a completely new generation of artillery systems. The system uses an automated tower module, with a machine of charging missiles, and the crew consists of only two people remaining in the hull of the transporter.
RCH 155 is developed on the chassis of the GTK Boxer wheeled armored personnel carrier with an 8×8 wheel arrangement. It was created by the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). The system has an automated AGM turret artillery module with a German PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer artillery unit. The length of the gun barrel is 52 caliber.
Testing indicates that the system will be able to hit a target more than 40 km away. Using special ammunition, e.g. M982 Excalibur or M2005 V-LAP missiles, this value can be up to over 50 km. The theoretical rate of fire is 9 shots per minute.
The Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impacts (MRSI) mode of operation is possible. In this mode, the trajectories and times of the projectiles are modified by elevation of the barrel and number of propellant charges in such a way that several shots fired in succession hit the target almost simultaneously in order to achieve the greatest possible effect before the enemy can take evasive action.
The drive unit is the MTU V8 199 TE21 engine with 815 hp, which allows the Boxer to achieve 100 km/h. With a full supply of fuel, the car will travel about 700 km.
There is no doubt that the combat baptism of highly automated howitzers produced in Germany will be closely observed when they will be operated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Especially considering the fact that the RCH 155 system is planned for the purchase by other countries.
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