A new artillery system for the British Army will see crews able to fire on the move and strike targets some 43 miles away. The UK has signed a £52 million contract with Germany to acquire “state-of-the-art” RCH 155s — a long-term successor to the dozens of AS90 guns supplied to Ukraine.

The weapon is different to traditional artillery that needs to stop and set up before firing, meaning it is harder for enemies to locate and target. Defence minister Luke Pollard said the deal follows learnings from the Ukraine war.

He said: “This builds on lessons from Ukraine enabling our Army to hit targets 70km away and move fast away from returning fire so they can fire again.

“The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of being able to fire rapidly and move, and it is such lessons that are informing our procurement decisions and helping us deliver on the Strategic Defence Review.”

Ukrainian forces are using so-called ‘shoot and scoot’ tactics to avoid Russian counter-battery fire and drones which have become the defining weapon in the war.

The joint procurement contract will see the UK receive an early capability demonstrator of the RCH 155, with two more going to Germany for shared testing.

The nations will share test data and facilities, resulting in accelerated procurement timelines and reduced costs, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. 

Edward Cutts, the Army’s senior officer responsible for the mobile fires programme, said the RCH 155 marks a “step-change in mobile artillery — combining devastating firepower with the ability to rapidly reposition”.

The RCH 155 is mounted onto a Boxer armoured vehicle and is capable of firing eight rounds per minute while moving at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour.

It can hit targets in any direction without repositioning and travel more than 430 miles without refuelling — similar to the driving distance from Cornwall to Newcastle.

Ministers have previously said it is hoped the RCH 155 will enter service this decade.

The system is manufactured by French-German defence group KNDS and Germany’s Rheinmetall.

UK troops are currently operating 14 Swedish-built Archer howitzers which are a short-term replacement for the AS90s gifted to Kyiv.