Rheinmetall and and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 21, during Eurosatory 2026, to explore joint production arrangements for VEKTREX, a GA-EMS design for a maneuvering 155 mm precision-guided shell.
VEKTREX is an under-calibrated, sabot-discharging, gliding shell design with no auxiliary propulsion. Advanced aerodynamics and sizeable folding wings are what enable it to extend its flight to target, with ranges of over 200 kilometers claimed when fired from a 52-caliber barrel, reducing to “over 120 km” for 39-caliber barrels.
The projectile has a “triangular” fuselage with two large pop-out wings which deploy after the spinning of the shell post-firing begins to wear out. The shell is designed to have significant maneuverability enabling it to shape its flight path towards the target to fly around obstacles such as hills. It can carry out commanded 90° course corrections, enabling it to dive vertically down on its target.
The shell is guided through inertial navigation and GPS for most of its flight time, switching to an as-yet-unspecified seeker to lock onto its final target. GA-EMS says that “Vektrex maintains guidance and precision against stationary, moving, and obscured targets in GPS-degraded or -denied environments”, which implies the use of a capable seeker, presumably including more than just laser due to the specific mention of “obscured” targets.
No detail has been provided yet on the size and nature of the warhead, which will inexorably be much smaller than the HE payload found on a conventional round due to the obvious space constraints within the shaped fuselage and in presence of folding wings and seeker. VEKTREX is offered as a low-cost alternative to tactical missiles.
The VEKTREX was test-fired at Yuma proving ground in the US during August 2025. In the occasion, “multiple” VEKTREX were fired from M777 155/39 howitzers using using M231 powder charges. Ranges of over 120 kilometers were proven. VEKTREX was earlier known more generically as the “Long-Range Maneuvering Projectile (LRMP)”.
The MOU was signed by GA-EMS President Scott Forney and the CEO of Rheinmetall's Weapon and Ammunition Division, Roman Koehne. It will enable GA-EMS to tap into the huge production capacity that Rheinmetall is building up by expanding its plants across multiple Countries in Europe and beyond. The cooperation with Rheinmetall is a way to ensure VEKTREX’s production can swiftly by expanded to a large scale.
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