Swiss Army to replace M109 KAWEST self-propelled howitzers

Switzerland has begun considering prospective equipment to replace the M109 self-propelled howitzers. They have been in service with the Swiss army for 50 years.

The European Defense Review reported about this.

The M109 self-propelled howitzer’s current usage will reach its end at the beginning of the 2030s. By that time, Switzerland is going to choose the replacement, and the first order is planned to be made in 2026.

Currently, two self-propelled guns are being considered, which can be put into service. These are the Swedish Archer and the German RCH 155 AGM.

Switzerland’s main requirements are that it should be a wheeled self-propelled gun, easy to transport, with the possibility of integration into a fire control system, and the availability of training tools for the maintenance of these self-propelled howitzers.

The German RCH 155 AGM is a new self-propelled howitzer designed by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The gun from the PZH-2000, with a length of 52 calibers, is mounted on a Boxer wheeled chassis. The first tests took place in 2019.

The developers state that the weight of the RCH 155 AGM will be 38.5 tons, and the amount of ammunition carried will be 30 rounds. The RCH 155 AGM can open fire 10 seconds after stopping. The self-propelled howitzer can fire 9 shots per minute. The crew consists of 2 people. The firing range is 54 km.

The artillery unit of the Archer self-propelled gun is represented by a 155-mm FH 77B gun with a barrel length of 52 calibers.

The charging device allows to release six shells in 30 seconds along different trajectories. The maximum firing range is 30 km with a conventional projectile (HE), 40 km with an active-reactive projectile (HE ER), and 60 km with an Excalibur-guided artillery shell. The maximum rate of fire of the Archer self-propelled gun is 8-9 shots per minute, and the deployment time is 30 seconds.

As previously reported, Switzerland will train Ukrainian sappers.