| RCH 155 | |
|---|---|
 RCH 155 in the field [1] | |
| Type | Self-propelled artillery |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See operators below |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Krauss-Maffei Wegmann |
| Designed | 2014 |
| Manufacturer | Krauss-Maffei Wegmann |
| Unit cost | €12 million for the first order |
| Produced | Since 2022 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | <39.0 t |
| Length | 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in) |
| Width | 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 3.60 m (10 ft) |
| Crew | 2 (commander and driver) |
| Caliber | 155 mm caliber L/52 |
| Elevation | -2.5° to + 65° |
| Traverse | 360° (with up to 6 modular charges) |
| Rate of fire | Up to 9 rounds per minute |
| Effective firing range | 40 km base bleed round 54 km V-LAP (Velocity-enhanced Long-range Artillery Projectile) |
Main armament | Rheinmetall artillery gun |
Secondary armament | Optional remote-controlled weapon station |
| Engine | MTU 8V199 TE21 Up to 816 hp (600 kW) |
| Power/weight | 20.9 hp/t (20 kW/t) at maximum weight |
| Payload capacity | 30 fused rounds |
| Suspension | Double-wishbone coil springs and shock absorber |
Operational range | 700 km (400 mi) (road) |
| Maximum speed | 103 km/h (60 mph) (road) |
The RCH 155 (Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 mm) is a wheeled, self-propelled artillery gun firing 155 mm calibre that was developed and is produced by German defence company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).
The RCH 155 was developed from Panzerhaubitze 2000 and the artillery system Donar. It is built on the GTK Boxer chassis, on which the crewless so-called artillery gun module (AGM) is placed. The AGM has the same 155 mm/L52 gun as the Panzerhaubitze 2000. It can also be mounted on trucks, for example the Iveco Trakker 8×8 type.[2]
Description
The RCH 155 features a crew of two, commander and driver. They are protected against fire from heavy machine guns up to 14.5 mm and artillery fragments. In addition, protection exists against tank- and anti-personnel mines.
The system is equipped with an (optional) secondary weapon station, a smoke grenade launcher and an NBC protection and ventilation system.
The combat load is 30 projectiles with fuze and 144 modular propellants. The fuze programming is inductive during the loading process. The cadence is 9 rounds per minute.
The RCH 155 is capable of firing basically all 155 mm projectiles compatible with the Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding (JBMOU) of NATO.
The range is up to 40 kilometres for base-bleedvs, up to 54 kilometres for Extended-Range Full-Bore shells (V-LAP shells) and beyond for Vulcano_(munizione) and M982 Excalibur.
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 gun turret's aiming range is 360 degrees (maximum to the 6th propellant charge module) and the barrel elevation is -2.5 to + 65 degrees. The ground clearance is 0.5 metres, the turning radius is 21 metres, the maximum climb is 0.7 metres, the ditch crossing ability is 2.0 metres, the maximum fording depth is 1.2 metres, the maximum gradeability is 60 percent and the highest cross slope is 30 percent.[3] RCH 155 is powered by a diesel engine of the type 8V 199TE20/21 made by MTU Friedrichshafen. The on-board voltage is 24 volts at a maximum of 540 amps.[4]
Special features
The RCH 155 is the world's first howitzer that can fire on the move.[5] This is mainly to avoid enemy counter-artillery fire, as modern Counter-battery radars such as COBRA can be used to reconnoitre fire positions after firing in near real-time.
In addition, RCH 155 has the so-called hunter-killer capability, which otherwise only main battle tank and infantry fighting vehicle are capable of. The fire order and the search for the next target can be carried out in parallel. This capability of the RCH 155 is for self-defence, not the actual artillery mission.[6]
RCH 155 is highly automated and designed to later drive and shoot remotely and without requiring a crew.
Operators
Future operators
On 17 September 2022, it was announced that the government of Germany had approved the delivery of 18 RCH 155 worth 216 million euros to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, the howitzers cannot be delivered until two and a half years after this approval.[7]
In the planned future structure of the German Army (Heer) (so-called Zielbild Einsatzkräfte Heer), three wheeled artillery battalions are envisaged for which RCH 155 would be a likely candidate.[8]
Bids
The RCH 155 is shortlisted alongside the Archer 8×8 artillery system from Swedish manufacturer Bofors to succeed the M109 howitzer of the Swiss Army. Here, in addition to the GTK Boxer chassis, the Swiss Mowag Piranha 8×8 is also being considered as a carrier platform for RCH 155.[9]
References
- ↑ url=https://www.artec-boxer.com/fileadmin/documents/DB_RCH_155.pdf
- ↑ "Artillery Gun Module (AGM) on Truck (Wheeled AGM)".
- ↑ "RCH 155 overview sheet for Eurosatory 2022" (PDF).
- ↑ "Artillery Competence RCH 155®".
- ↑ Hoffmann, Lars. "Radhaubitze RCH 155 - KMW shows firing on the move for the first time".
- ↑ "Video: KMW equips RCH 155 wheeled howitzer with hunter-killer capability".
- ↑ Klaus Geiger, Gregor Schwung. "Germany delivers more guns to Ukraine".
- ↑ Müller, Björn. "Neue Heeresstruktur weist den Weg in die Zukunft".
- ↑ "Still two artillery systems in the race for M109 successor".
External links
