Back in July 2022, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, sent an official request for the transfer to Ukraine of the RCH 155 self-propelled howitzer, one of the newest howitzers in the world. Germany takes a long time to make a decision. Only in September, information about the possible transfer of the RCH 155 appeared in the German media. However, on December 15, the Bundeswehr officially announced a new package of military aid, which included 18 RCH 155 self-propelled guns. We invite you to learn more about the capabilities of this howitzer and its potential benefits at the front.

Production and transfer to Ukraine

Although the Bundeswehr named the exact number of howitzers that are planned to be transferred to Ukraine, it is not possible to speak with confidence about their quick delivery to the front. The German government has not released details on the delivery time for security reasons, but these self-propelled guns are marked as requiring repair work or in production. The Bundeswehr also notes that personnel training is still underway for some types of weapons. Including for RCH 155 self-propelled guns

Howitzers are produced by the well-known company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, which produces the world-famous Leopard tanks, PzH 2000 self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems and the Dingo ATF armored car, which we wrote about earlier.

Tame Power BI and predict the future of your company.

REGISTER!

The RCH 155 was launched in 2014. It is the successor of the PzH 2000 (1998) and Donar (2008) self-propelled guns, from which engineers took the best decisions and adapted the RCH 155 self-propelled guns to modern requirements. The main advantage of this howitzer is the ability to fire on the move. This feature immediately emphasizes the name of the self-propelled howitzer, because RCH is an abbreviation and stands for Remotely Controlled Howitzer (remotely controlled howitzer).

The design of the RCH 155 self-propelled gun

Unlike its predecessor, the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled gun, the new RCH 155 self-propelled gun is more mobile and easy to maintain. The RCH 155 self-propelled vehicle is placed on a wheeled chassis, not on a tracked one, and the crew consists of only two people. We will remind that in the PzH 2000 self-propelled guns, 5 people are engaged in maintenance: the commander, the driver, the gunner, 2 are loaders.

Reducing the number of people is possible thanks to remote fire control, because the crew is no longer forced to intervene physically in the process of preparation and firing. Automation not only reduces the crew size, but also allows you to produce “volley” fire. The howitzer supports a mode in which shots are fired serially, changing the trajectory of the projectile. As a result, they all hit the target at the same time.

If you roughly describe the design of the RCH 155 self-propelled gun, then it is a turret from the PzH 2000 tracked self-propelled gun, which was mounted on the chassis of the Boxer wheeled armored vehicle. The Boxer platform with an 8×8 wheel formula provides no less high mobility than a tracked chassis, but provides a highway speed of more than 100 km per hour. With an MTU 815 hp diesel engine. the range is about 700 km.

In addition, the ACS has protection against anti-tank mines and improvised explosive devices – armor on the body and a protected bottom make the machine quite alive in combat conditions. The weight of the artillery module is 12.5 tons, and the entire weight of the machine reaches 39 tons.

The combat force is formed by an artillery team with a barrel length of 8 meters (52 caliber). The ammunition of the ACS contains 30 shells, and the maximum rate of fire is limited to nine shells per minute. An important clarification is the compatibility of self-propelled guns with long-range VULCANO and EXCALIBUR projectiles with a range of 90 km and 70 km, respectively.

When using standard V-LAPs, the maximum firing range is up to 52 km. EXCALIBUR projectiles have proven themselves at the front, because the armed forces with M777 howitzers or the French CAESAR self-propelled guns are already in use. They are characterized by high accuracy of defeat and are suitable for combat in urban conditions.

As for the VULCANO, the German government even earlier announced their transfer for use with the PzH 2000 self-propelled guns. These shells also have a high accuracy rate and can work against both moving and stationary targets.

In addition, the RCH 155 self-propelled gun can be equipped with a machine gun, a grenade launcher and protection systems against various types of threats (radiation, biological and chemical).

Technical characteristics of the RCH 155 ACS:

RCH 155 and 2C22 “Bohdana” self-propelled guns

When familiarizing with the German self-propelled howitzer, the Ukrainian self-propelled howitzer on the 2C22 “Bohdana” wheeled chassis immediately comes to mind. Its developer is the Kramatorsk Plant of Heavy Machine Tool Construction. The installation is compatible with 155 mm projectiles and is mounted on the KrAZ-63221 chassis with a 6×6 wheel formula.

It began to be developed in 2018, includes an automated guidance system based on Siemens SIPLUS and SIMATIC HM controllers and an automatic ammunition supply system for 6 shells. Ammunition consists of 20 shells.

Although “Bogdana” was produced only as an experimental sample, it has already proven itself at the front. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny, the installation destroyed the occupiers during the operation to liberate Zmiiny Island.

The target of “Bogdana” was the enemy ZRGK “Pantsir-S1”, and its “gunner” was the Bayraktar TB2 UAV. With such combat experience, we can hope that the 2С22 “Bohdana” will in the future become a number of Western analogues with the RCH 155 self-propelled guns or the Slovak Zuzana 2.

The importance of the transmission of the RCH 155 ACS cannot be overestimated, because it is the most modern and advanced installation in the world. In modern wars, artillery plays almost the most important role, because according to various data, about 85% of losses occur as a result of the use of artillery installations.

The possibility of using RCH 155 long-range projectiles will help to work behind enemy lines, and high accuracy will help to minimize the level of collateral losses, which is important for the warring party on its own territory.

The only thing that disturbs the transmission of these self-propelled guns is the speed of their receipt. In September 2022, information appeared in the columns of the German media that the production of these installations would be delayed until 2025. We would like to hope that the non-disclosure of the delivery time is purely of a security nature and that modern military equipment will arrive for the defense of Ukraine on time and in sufficient quantity.