In the UK, the opening of a factory that was supposed to produce ammunition for Ukraine, in particular, has been delayed by more than six months.
The Guardian writes about this.
The BAE Systems plant in south Wales was expected to allow Britain to increase its artillery shell production capacity 16-fold, replenish depleted stocks, and increase supplies to Ukraine.
Journalists found out that production was supposed to start last summer, but it still hasnʼt started.
In response to a request for comment, BAE Systems confirmed the delay, explaining that last year, in the middle of construction, they decided to double the planned capacity of the enterprise.
Britain wants to dramatically increase its ability to produce explosives domestically to reduce its reliance on other countries for ammunition. BAE Systems previously imported RDX, the explosive used in artillery shells, from the US and France.
The publication adds that the delay is due to the governmentʼs hesitation to increase military spending amid warnings that Britainʼs armed forces will face a funding shortfall of £28 billion over the next four years.
The Guardian also specifies that BAE produced between three and five thousand 155 mm shells per year, which means that even the promise to increase production by 16 times will only allow for the production of up to 80 thousand shells per year.
For comparison, the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall opened a new plant in 2025 that will allow the country to produce 1.1 million shells by 2027.
- In February 2025, it became known that a new projectile production plant from “Rheinmetall” would begin operating in Ukraine in 2026.
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