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Rheinmetall’s CT-025 Turret Chosen for Germany’s Future Luchs 2 Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles.
Rheinmetall will supply its CT-025 unmanned turret, 25 mm main armament and simulators for Germany’s future Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicles under a contract signed in February 2026. The award strengthens the Bundeswehr’s push to rebuild high-end land combat capabilities with digitally networked, survivable reconnaissance platforms built for NATO interoperability and long-term upgrades.
On 20 February 2026, Rheinmetall announced that General Dynamics European Land Systems, as prime contractor for the Bundeswehr’s next-generation Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicle, has commissioned the company to supply the turret, main armament and corresponding simulators. The contract was signed in Kaiserslautern at the beginning of February 2026 and its value is in the mid three-digit million-euro range, covering the turret, weapon and training package. Set within Germany’s broader effort to rebuild high-end land capabilities after decades of expeditionary focus, the choice of a digitally networked unmanned turret, a NATO-standard 25 mm weapon system and an integrated simulation suite signals an emphasis on reconnaissance forces that can survive, share data and, when required, fight for information in contested environments. With deliveries due to start from 2029 onwards, the Luchs 2 configuration also underlines a wider intent to field platforms designed for long-term software-driven upgrades, faster sensor-to-decision cycles and improved interoperability with allied formations.
Rheinmetall has secured a mid three-digit million-euro contract to equip Germany’s future Luchs 2 reconnaissance vehicles with its CT-025 unmanned 25 mm turret and integrated training systems, with deliveries beginning in 2029 (Picture Source: GDELS / Rheinmetall)
The Luchs 2 programme is positioned as one of the German Army’s major land modernisation efforts, aimed at renewing armoured reconnaissance capacity and building a reconnaissance fleet suited to higher-intensity, networked operations. In its own October 2025 announcement, GDELS said Germany’s procurement authority BAAINBw had commissioned the company to deliver 274 next-generation reconnaissance vehicles for the German Army Reconnaissance Corps under the designation Luchs 2, with a contract value of approximately €3 billion. GDELS also stated that the reconnaissance vehicle will be based on the most modern PIRANHA 6x6 wheeled vehicle variant with amphibious capability and will succeed the light 4x4 Fennek reconnaissance vehicle.
Alongside the platform renewal, the programme also reflects a broader shift toward digitised land operations, where reconnaissance vehicles are expected to act as sensor nodes as much as protected mobility assets. Germany’s Digitalization of Land-Based Operations initiative is intended to integrate and standardise land-force IT and communications across vehicle and platform systems, and Rheinmetall has previously described its role in that programme as a major IT integration effort for the Bundeswehr’s land forces. In Luchs 2 terms, this strategic direction makes architectural choices around open interfaces, interoperability and software upgradability particularly relevant, because the reconnaissance value of the vehicle increasingly depends on how quickly it can collect, process and share data across formations and joint networks.
Within that framework, Rheinmetall described its contract package as comprising 274 CT-025 medium-calibre turrets and the Oerlikon KBA 25 mm automatic cannon, plus modern simulation systems. The company stated that the largest share of the contract package will be fulfilled by Rheinmetall Electronics in Bremen, and it characterised the order as the first major series contract for its newly developed CT-025 modular unmanned turret family. Rheinmetall further stated that the 274 turrets are to be delivered by 2031 and that Luchs 2 will receive a modified CT-025 version compliant with Bundeswehr requirements.
Rheinmetall’s description of the Bundeswehr-specific turret configuration underlines how the CT-025 is being adapted for a reconnaissance role that must balance automation, protection and crew situational awareness. According to the company, the turret combines state-of-the-art sensor technology and digital networking, with a stabilised vision system intended to enable precise engagement against ground and air targets, including drones, and a fully digital fire-control system incorporating inertial weapon stabilisation, a ballistic computer and GVA/NGVA-compatible interfaces to maintain accuracy while the vehicle is moving. Rheinmetall also highlighted a distinctive Bundeswehr feature: a turret hatch supplemented by ballistic protection, allowing an open, protected position while commanding the vehicle in motion. To meet maximum weight requirements, Rheinmetall stated that the ammunition supply has been adapted to the mission and the height profile optimised to ensure compatibility with other platforms.
A central element in Rheinmetall’s positioning of the CT-025 is its software-driven growth model. The company stated that the turret’s open modular framework enables full integration into Rheinmetall Battlesuite, described as the group’s digital “capability store,” allowing functions such as AI-supported target tracking or mission-specific software upgrades to be integrated quickly without hardware modifications. In practical terms for Luchs 2, this approach supports an upgrade path where new algorithms, interfaces and mission functions can be fielded in response to evolving threats and changing rulesets, without requiring a turret redesign cycle.
For armament, Rheinmetall stated that Luchs 2 will use the proven Oerlikon KBA 25 mm automatic cannon in the NATO-standard 25 x 137 calibre, manufactured by Rheinmetall Italia in Rome. Rheinmetall said the weapon has been manufactured more than 6,000 times and identified three firing modes: single shot, rapid single fire at around 175 rounds per minute and burst fire at around 600 rounds per minute, with a dual-belt feed and a range of up to 2,500 metres. The company stated the weapon can penetrate the armour of most modern armoured personnel carriers and emphasised that new 25 x 137 proximity-fuse ammunition improves effectiveness against drones, reinforcing the gun’s relevance for reconnaissance vehicles operating under persistent UAS surveillance and attack risks.
Rheinmetall also argued that the KBA’s low recoil enables integration across a wide range of platforms, from heavy tracked vehicles to light armoured reconnaissance vehicles, and across manned and unmanned turrets as well as anti-aircraft mounts and naval applications. The company explicitly linked that versatility to the prospect of a cross-platform main-weapon approach for the Bundeswehr, which would create synergies in training, maintenance and logistics if applied beyond Luchs 2.
The programme’s reconnaissance effect is designed to come not only from mobility and protection, but also from sensor performance and mission-system integration. In November 2025, Hensoldt announced that it had received a major order worth just under €1 billion from GDELS to equip the German Armed Forces’ Luchs 2 with sensor technology and the CERETRON mission system over the next seven years. Hensoldt described CERETRON as the central mission system in Luchs 2, integrating multiple sensors across spectra, processing data in real time to generate a consistent tactical situation picture, and using AI-supported image processing to automatically detect, identify and track objects and persons. Hensoldt also stated that the mission system includes a radio direction finder, a laser warning system and acoustic sensors, supporting sensor fusion and rapid threat cueing, and that CERETRON’s NGVA-compliant, software-defined architecture is designed to remain scalable across the vehicle life cycle.
Training and simulation are embedded in Rheinmetall’s scope, reflecting the need to build readiness for crews expected to operate forward, dispersed and under time pressure. Rheinmetall stated that GDELS has commissioned the development and delivery of six combat simulation training devices for vehicle-based reconnaissance troops, with the reference system scheduled for delivery in mid-2028 and later upgraded to the same standard as the other five series devices. Rheinmetall described AGFS as replicating vehicle logic, sensor technology and ballistics to support realistic training aligned with the “train as you fight” concept, and designed for networking with other simulators or compatible systems. Rheinmetall also stated that AGDUS, its laser-based live simulation system, will be fully integrated into the future fleet, enabling realistic training from firing exercises to large-scale combat training centre activities using original display and control elements, drawing on an installation approach proven in the Puma and Lynx programmes.
Strategically, Luchs 2 is relevant because it strengthens Germany’s ability to generate and sustain reconnaissance mass for collective defence, while improving how quickly information can be turned into decisions across the land domain. A fleet of 274 reconnaissance vehicles, combined with a mission system built around automated sensor fusion and a turret architecture designed for digital networking and software upgrades, supports shorter sensor-to-decision cycles and more resilient reconnaissance under electronic warfare pressure. For NATO, a modern German reconnaissance capability contributes to a more credible posture on the Alliance’s eastern flank by improving early warning, target-quality situational awareness and the ability to sustain reconnaissance in contested environments, while interoperability-oriented standards such as NGVA support multinational integration as formations train and deploy together.
Looking ahead, the Luchs 2 package illustrates how armoured reconnaissance is being redefined by the convergence of persistent drone surveillance, electronic warfare and faster artillery kill chains. In this environment, reconnaissance vehicles are increasingly required to operate as survivable, networked collectors that can sense, classify and transmit faster than an adversary can locate and strike, while retaining enough organic firepower to suppress threats and break contact without waiting for heavier forces. By combining an unmanned, software-upgradable turret architecture, a 25 mm system explicitly framed around counter-drone effectiveness, and a training ecosystem designed to accelerate readiness before large-scale fielding, Luchs 2 is positioned as a practical answer to the “fight for information” problem now shaping land operations, with direct implications for how Germany generates reconnaissance capacity for NATO’s deterrence posture.
Rheinmetall quoted Timo Haas, Head of its Digital Systems Division, describing the Luchs 2 contract package as a significant success for Rheinmetall’s Bremen site and its colleagues in Rome, and as a signal in favour of European defence cooperation. With vehicle deliveries due from 2029 onwards, turret deliveries planned by 2031, and simulator delivery milestones set ahead of fleet fielding, the programme now has defined industrial and schedule anchors for the turret, weapon and training ecosystem that will shape how quickly Luchs 2 can translate its sensor and networking ambitions into operational readiness for German forces and NATO commitments.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.