British Army preferred German RCH-155 over BAE Systems' Archer to replace AS-90 self-propelled guns within the Mobile Fires Platform program as 52 calibre Wheeled Artillery Systems. British Army has begun the transition from AS-90 self-propelled guns to Archers, 14 of which were acquired in March 2023 as an interim solution after sending 32 AS-90s to Ukraine. BAE Systems' Archer was a candidate gun in the British Army's Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) program to replace the AS-90. However, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Rishi Sunak, announced from Germany that the two countries will cooperate in the development of a gun, based on the German RCH-155 (Remote-Controlled Howitzer 155mm), which will be selected for the MFP program. It should be noted that the RCH-155 is based on the chassis of the Boxer armoured vehicle, which serves the British Army, and incorporates the gun of the PzH-2000.
The boxer is again based on British-German joint venture RBSL.
The RCH-155 can fire on the move. It incorporates a diesel engine with a maximum power of 815, achieves a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour and a range of 700 kilometres.
It is worth nothing that this decision is part of an interim solution and the while the British Army is already in the process of entering into service the 14 British BAE Systems Archers it acquired in 2023. This decision also marks the second major armament program of the British Army, which Germany wins. It was preceded by the program to upgrade the Challenger-2 tanks to the Challenger-3 level, a program that is ongoing. That programme also includes British-German joint venture RBSL.
