FEINDEF 2025: GDELS and KNDS unveil Nemesis tracked SPH

On the opening day of the FEINDEF 2025 defence exhibition, held in Madrid from 12 to 14 May, General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS), in partnership with KNDS, unveiled a new tracked self-propelled howitzer (SPH) called Nemesis.

The new SPH pairs the latest GDELS ASCOD tracked platform with the fully automated 155 mm/L52 Artillery Gun Module (AGM) from KNDS. It was shown at FEINDEF 2025 alongside the wheeled Piranha Advanced Artillery Carrier (AAC), launched in 2024, which brings together the Piranha HMC 10×10 platform with the same KNDS automated 155 mm/L52 AGM used on the Nemesis.

Through a high degree of automation, the Nemesis SPH can be operated by a crew of two. However, its ergonomically optimised cabin compartment, which is currently ballistically protected to NATO STANAG Level 4 but can be changed according to customer requirements, allows space for an additional crew member or the option of completely unmanned operation.

The ASCOD platform on the Nemesis is powered by a 1,100 hp Scania diesel engine and can be fitted with either steel or composite rubber tracks. A senior engineering executive at GDELS noted to ESD at FEINDEF 2025 that the platform also features an improved suspension system to absorb the accelerations transmitted by the AGM and an active, automatic track tensioning system that optimises mobility and extends the service life of the tracks.

The KNDS AGM on the Nemesis, as on the Piranha AAC, can engage targets across a full 360°, even while on the move, while the vehicle’s high degree of mobility offers the ability to ‘shoot and scoot’ before being targeted by hostile counter-battery fire. The gun system also facilitates multiple-round, simultaneous impact engagements to maximise the effects of an initial salvo, as well as the option for direct targeting should battlefield conditions require it. The AGM has a maximum firing range of between 54-70 km, depending on ammunition type.

“The Nemesis is the next step in the co-operation between two leading European system houses, which began with the Donar [a 2008 version ofthe AGM on an ASCOD chassis with a two-man turret] and continued with the wheeled Piranha AAC,” GDELS stated in a press release. “GDELS’ unique offer now includes both tracked and wheeled artillery systems with the highly automated AGM. Developed entirely in Europe, Nemesis contributes to more strategic autonomy of the continent. As the recent wars and conflicts have dramatically confirmed, self-propelled indirect fire support remains a major element and decisive factor on today`s and tomorrow’s battlefield.”

GDELS added that the Nemesis “is a potential replacement for older systems such as the M109 [tracked SPH] currently in service with the Spanish Army and other users”.

Presenting the Nemesis at FEINDEF 2025 on 12 May, Juan Escriña Aldeanueva, executive director general for GDELS – Santa Bárbara Sistemas, stated, “There’s a phrase that is fully applicable to the entire GDELS group and, of course, to the business units, including Santa Barbara in particular. It’s ‘Facta, non verba’ – ‘Facts, not words’ – and that’s what we’ve chosen to do at this edition of the fair. What we’ve brought are facts that speak for us.”

As well as introducing the Nemesis, Aldeanueva noted that FEINDEF 2025 was the first time that the Piranha AAC had been presented in public at a trade show, despite the fact that the system has already been selected by the Swiss Ministry of Defence and will soon begin production.

Aldeanueva also noted what the Nemesis and Piranha AAC systems represent in terms of European technological sovereignty and co-operation. “Technological sovereignty: we are dealing here with two 100% European products, designed, produced, with 100% European requirements, manufacturable in any of our business units, including Santa Barbara Systems, of course,” he said, adding that GDELS is “very proud of the history of collaboration we have with KNDS, which dates back to the days of [the] Leopard [main battle tank]. … True strategic sovereignty is only achieved through collaboration between the best in each sector, and only with collaborative developments, with national and international co-operation, can we make what we have here a reality.”

Lastly, Aldeanueva explained that ‘Nemesis’ is “not a name chosen at random. Nemesis, besides its sonority and the fact that it’s a beautiful name, is very evocative of many concepts that are very applicable to systems like these, but what really conveys the message we want to convey here today is its original meaning.

“Nemesis, he said, “is a goddess from the Greek pantheon, but she’s a goddess charged with something very particular: restoring lost order, putting things back in their place. … And this is our contribution to putting things back in their place.”