The Germans showed what would happen if the tower from the PzH 2000 was “unmanned” and rearranged on a wheeled armored personnel carrier.

The Swiss Army is holding a competition for the selection of a promising wheeled self-propelled gun, which after 2026 should replace the M109 KAWEST self-propelled gun. They are considering two models – ARCHER self-propelled guns from the Swedish-British manufacturer BAE Systems and the promising RCH 155 AGM from the German concern Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.

The Swiss Ministry of Defense wants to find a quality replacement for its self-propelled artillery. So, the following requirements for future self-propelled guns were put forward – a wheeled chassis and ease of transport, the possibility of integration into a single fire control system, the availability of training vehicles for the maintenance of self-propelled artillery installations. According to these criteria, the Swedish ARCHER self-propelled gun and the German RCH 155 AGM made it to the finals.

The next phase of selection will take place in the period 2023-2024, when ARCHER and RCH 155 AGM will be field-tested.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann designers began work on the new RCH 155 AGM self-propelled gun in 2014. Their idea was to try what would happen if the tower from the PzH 2000 was made “unmanned” and rearranged on a wheeled armored personnel carrier.

At the tests in 2019, the first experimental car showed itself perfectly. It turned out that the boxer wheeled chassis fully withstands the impact of 60 tons of force, and at the same time there is no need to put any additional frames to ensure stability during shooting.

It is assumed that the combat weight of the RCH 155 AGM will be 38.5 tons, the gun will be 155 mm caliber from the 52-caliber PzH 2000 self-propelled gun, the ammunition will be 30 shots in the turret. The developers claim that the RCH 155 AGM can fire literally 10 seconds after stopping, and the same 10 seconds are needed to exit the firing position. The self-propelled gun could fire nine shots in one minute.

The crew is two people. Working areas allow you to perform various functions – commander, driver or firefighter of self-propelled guns.