New automated 155mm L52 wheeled howitzer in live fire

Rheinmetall and Elbit Systems have successfully presented an automated 155mm L52 wheeled howitzer in live fire. The demonstration of the new system took place in early March 2023 at the Shivta firing range in southern Israel. High-ranking guests from the British, German, Dutch, and Hungarian armed forces were present.

Rheinmetall and Elbit Systems signed a cooperation agreement last year for the development, production, and marketing of a European fully automated 155mm wheeled howitzer system. The "Rheinmetall Elbit" team, led by Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH, will compete for the "Future Indirect Fire System - Medium Range" program to modernize and expand the capabilities of the German Army in the field of artillery. The focus is also on the British "Mobile Fires Platform" program, which is of high interest to potential customers such as Hungary.

The cooperation is based on procurement programs of the Israeli Ministry of Defense and other customer countries, under which an automated wheeled howitzer was commissioned from Elbit Systems. This allows for the use of a system with a high level of maturity. The Rheinmetall weapon system can be integrated into the unmanned and fully automated robotic artillery turret of Elbit Systems, which is already in an advanced stage of integrated verification. This helps reduce development risks and enable time-optimized readiness.

Currently, an intensive bilateral technology transfer is taking place to make know-how and components locally available. Rheinmetall is making modifications for Europeanization and system certification in Germany. Furthermore, the high-technology company is providing the field-tested 155mm L52 weapon system, the highly mobile tactical truck HX 10x10 with a well-protected cabin, and electronic components for fire control and sensors.

In addition, Rheinmetall is already working on a future-proof range extension for tube artillery. In addition to using the field-tested L52, as well as its further development A1, the wheeled howitzer also allows for the use of the future - currently under development - L60 weapon system with a significantly larger chamber and longer barrel with 60 calibers. This weapon system will be able to fire JBMoU-compliant ammunition up to 83 km. This enables the wheeled howitzer to meet the requirements for the future rad-based Future Indirect Fire System (ZukSysIndF) medium range of the German Army.

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