Britain has signed a £52 million ($70 million) joint procurement agreement with Germany to acquire a new generation of mobile artillery systems, underscoring a growing push among European allies to strengthen land warfare capabilities amid heightened security concerns.
The move comes against the backdrop of a far-reaching rearmament drive across Europe, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the return of high-intensity warfare to the continent.
The British Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that the agreement will deliver an early capability demonstrator of the RCH 155 artillery system to the British Army, along with two units for Germany to support testing and evaluation. While limited in scale, the deal is being closely watched as a potential precursor to larger orders as both countries seek to modernize their land forces.
The RCH 155 system is produced by Franco-German defense group KNDS in cooperation with Germany’s Rheinmetall. Mounted on an armored vehicle, the system is designed to fire while on the move, allowing units to strike and rapidly relocate, a capability that has proved critical on the battlefields of Ukraine, where counter-battery fire and drones have made static positions increasingly vulnerable.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the system can fire up to eight rounds per minute and hit targets at distances of more than 70 kilometers. It can be operated by just two crew members, reflecting a shift towards greater automation and efficiency in modern artillery units. With a range of about 700 kilometers without refueling, the platform is intended to support sustained operations over wide areas.
British officials said the early capability demonstrator will allow the army to test how the RCH 155 performs alongside existing artillery, logistics, and command-and-control systems. The evaluation is expected to inform future decisions on whether the platform could replace or complement current systems as the army reshapes itself for high-readiness deployments. Germany, meanwhile, will use the additional units to refine operational concepts and technical performance as it rebuilds its artillery strength.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, European countries have moved both individually and collectively to strengthen their defense capabilities, reversing decades of underinvestment. Governments have raised military spending, replenished ammunition stocks, expanded training programmes, and accelerated the acquisition of heavy weapons, with artillery emerging as a central focus.
Germany announced a landmark €100 billion special defense fund shortly after the invasion and has since committed to meeting NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defense. Britain has also pledged to increase defense spending over the medium term, while emphasizing closer cooperation with European allies despite having left the European Union.
Joint procurement initiatives such as the RCH 155 deal are increasingly seen as a way to share costs, speed up delivery, and improve interoperability among allied forces. European leaders have argued that fragmented national ??????? in the past left militaries with incompatible systems and limited industrial scale, weaknesses that the war in Ukraine has exposed.
The partnership also highlights the growing role of European defense manufacturers, as firms such as KNDS and Rheinmetall benefit from surging demand for artillery, armored vehicles, and ammunition. Production capacity, supply chains, and workforce expansion have become strategic priorities as governments seek to ensure long-term readiness.
Although the Ministry of Defense did not say whether the current agreement would lead to a full-scale purchase, officials on both sides have framed it as an important step in deepening UK-German defense ties. As the security environment in Europe remains tense, even relatively small procurement deals are taking on broader significance, signaling a sustained commitment to strengthening military capabilities in the face of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
