QinetiQ has secured a contract to test the British Army’s newly contracted Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 artillery system.
QinetiQ has secured an 18-million-pound ($24 million) multi-year contract by the UK’s National Armaments Director Group to test and assure the British Army’s newly contracted Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 (RCH155) artillery system.
QinetiQ will conduct the testing at sites it operates under the UK Ministry of Defence’s Long Term Partnering Agreement, alongside work at its own facilities across the country.
The evaluation will examine multiple aspects of the platform, including ammunition safety, gun barrel degradation over time, and how environmental conditions such as extreme temperatures could affect both the system and its operators.
London’s RCH155 procurement recently moved into production with an approximately 1-billion-pound ($1.3-billion) contract for 72 systems, which will form the British Army’s long-term 155 mm close support artillery capability.
Earlier progress included a 52-million-pound ($69 million) agreement signed in December last year for three early capability demonstrator vehicles for joint UK-German testing, building on the Trinity House Agreement signed by both countries in October 2024.
Remote Controlled Howitzer 155
Developed by KNDS through a UK-Germany collaboration, the RCH155 combines the firepower and range of the automated, remotely operated 155mm artillery gun module with the mobility and protection of the Boxer wheeled armored vehicle platform.
According to the manufacturer, the system can respond to threats at ranges of up to 70 kilometers (43 miles) within seconds, switch targets without repositioning, and rapidly redeploy to improve survivability against enemy fire.
