Bundeswehr's official website published a report earlier this week, on June 2, showing that Ukrainian servicemen in Germany had started their training on GTK Boxer armored personnel carriers. The post says the focus of these exercises will be on driving in difficult terrain and studying the vehicle's technical features.
"This training provides an important foundation, as other vehicles in later training phases have almost identical chassis," the German armed forces noted.
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Defense Express adds that these "other vehicles" refers to the RCH 155 self-propelled artillery systems, one of its variants is mounted on a Boxer-type chassis. Ukraine is expected to receive shipments of these artillery pieces according to a contract awarded to KNDS back in 2022, first on 18 systems, then expanded to 54 units. In January 2025, first RCH 155 were ceremonially handed to the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kassel, Germany.
However, judging by the Bundeswehr's announcement about the start of Boxer GTK exercises, the RCH 155 self-propelled guns have not yet been sent to Ukraine despite the official transfer, as suggested by German AID to Ukraine, a website monitoring all supplies. Its authors state that deployment of these self-propelled howitzers in Ukraine has once again been postponed, for the second time.
In 2023, KNDS Germany said the first RCH 155 units should reach Ukraine by the end of 2024, then in November 2024 the deadline was shifted to April 2025. After the official handover this January, the deliveries were expected to arrive already in spring but just starting training with chassis now means there's a long way to go.
Today, there's no information on how long the training course on GTK Boxer will last. It should be noted, though, that the Bundeswehr most likely announced the beginning of the exercises with an intentional delay, since some footage from the Boxer exercises was published also in early May.
Mobility meets firepower:soldiers receive driver training from on the GTK Boxer, a carrier platform for various weapon systems, under #EUMAM_UA.Maneuvering such high-tech systems requires skill, precision, and confidence, because this training saves lives. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/JoKwUIENOK — Special Training Command (@STC_EUMAM_UA) May 7, 2025
Another question is how long the artillerymen will need to master the RCH 155 artillery system itself. For reference, training on the PzH 2000 usually takes about seven weeks. Therefore, we can cautiously assume that RCH 155 should get to Ukraine approximately in July–August 2025.
Per earlier announced plans, Germany was to transfer six RCH 155 self-propelled guns to Ukraine by the end of this year, and send the rest through 2026–2027. On a related note, the KNDS Deutschland CEO Ralf Ketzel said in an exclusive interview with Defense Express that the production cycle of the RCH 155 self-propelled guns spans from 2 to 2.5 years.
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