KNDS Rides North American Artillery Wave with Record €33bn Backlog as IPO Looms

Franco-German defence group KNDS bids for US Army's RCH 155 and unveils Canadian Grizzly howitzer, boosting its equity narrative ahead of 2026 IPO with record €4.4B revenue.

The Franco-German defence group KNDS is making a two-pronged push into North American artillery markets, giving investors a fresh narrative to weigh alongside its planned dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris. On one front, American Rheinmetall — with KNDS as partner — has positioned the RCH 155 as the proposed solution for the US Army’s Mobile Tactical Cannon programme. On the other, General Dynamics Land Systems–Canada has rolled out the Grizzly LAV prototype at CANSEC 2026 in Ottawa, a 155mm self-propelled howitzer marrying a Canadian wheeled chassis with KNDS’s artillery module.

Neither initiative represents a firm order. The US announcement, made on 3 June, is a formal bid submission within a modernisation process, not a contract award. Canada’s Grizzly LAV is a concept demonstrator, part of the country’s ongoing review of how to upgrade its indirect fire support. Yet together, they signal that KNDS’s automated artillery technology is being actively marketed across two NATO procurement pathways, giving the company’s equity story concrete product-level heft ahead of its stock market debut.

The timing is deliberate. KNDS’s artillery module — a fully automated 155mm/L52 gun capable of firing over eight rounds per minute at ranges up to 54 kilometres — is designed to slot onto multiple wheeled platforms. The US variant rides on the Boxer armoured vehicle; the Canadian version uses a modified LAV 6.0 chassis. KNDS Deutschland has called the latter partnership “AGM on LAV”, underscoring the modularity that allows local manufacturing to house European gun technology, a politically astute model for sovereign defence buyers.

Europe remains the bedrock of near-term orders. The British government placed a contract in May for 72 RCH 155 howitzers, worth nearly £1 billion, via OCCAR and the ARTEC joint venture between KNDS and Rheinmetall. That follows 2025 orders for more than 300 Leopard 2 A8 tanks and 84 RCH 155 wheeled howitzers. The cumulative effect is visible in the group’s financials.

KNDS reported on 26 May that 2025 revenue climbed 15.9% to €4.4 billion. New orders surged to €13.5 billion, pushing the order backlog to €33.1 billion at year-end. Operating profit reached €661 million, lifting the EBIT margin from 13.2% to 15.0%. These record figures provide the backdrop for the planned dual listing, which the company says remains on track for 2026 subject to market conditions.

For analysts, the North American artillery campaigns shift the conversation away from IPO mechanics — timetable, governance, shareholder structure — and toward end-market demand. Neither the US nor the Canadian programme has a procurement decision or delivery date attached, but the visibility of KNDS technology in two simultaneous NATO modernisation efforts offers a tangible systems-level theme for investors to assess alongside the backlog and listing plans. The decisive question is whether either country moves from conceptual positioning to binding contracts — and when.