Rheinmetall's Friday Flurry: Howitzer Barrels, Autonomous Supply Trucks, and a Frigate Refit Published on 07/31/2026 at 20:02 | Redaktion boerse-global.de Rheinmetall closed out the week with a burst of announcements spanning three continents and two very different corners of its defense portfolio — yet the market's response was barely a shrug. The Düsseldorf-based group unveiled fresh work in Britain, the United States, and Germany within the space of roughly 24 hours, underscoring how far its tentacles now reach across NATO's procurement landscape. A British Barrel Order Takes Shape The most substantial of the new confirmations concerns the RCH 155 wheeled howitzer. Britain had already committed to 72 of the systems back in May, but Rheinmetall has now received the concrete manufacturing order for the gun assemblies themselves — 155-millimeter L/52 weapons that form the heart of the vehicle. The contract value sits in the low triple-digit millions of euros. Production will take place at a new gun-manufacturing facility in Telford, England, with deliveries scheduled from May 2028 through June 2031. The plant is expected to support around 500 jobs. The RCH 155 itself is a hybrid of sorts, marrying the GTK Boxer wheeled armored vehicle with the firepower of the Panzerhaubitze 2000, and it is designed for shoot-and-scoot operations — a capability that will see it replace the aging AS90 in British Army service. The system is built by ARTEC, the joint venture Rheinmetall operates with KNDS. Across the Atlantic: Autonomous Resupply Meanwhile, American Rheinmetall — the group's U.S. subsidiary — landed an 18-month development contract with the U.S. Army under a program called "Project Sustainment." Rheinmetall is acting as prime contractor for hybrid-powered, autonomous unmanned ground vehicles intended to handle resupply missions at the company level, particularly in contested terrain where manned supply convoys face acute risk. Should investors