UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
Government unveils £1.5 billion investment to revive domestic explosives production and expand defence-industrial capacity
The United Kingdom is moving ahead with an ambitious programme to build a new network of munitions factories, a step intended to strengthen national warfighting readiness and revive domestic production of key military explosives for the first time in nearly twenty years.
The Defence Secretary outlined the plan as part of a broader effort to ensure the country can sustain high-volume manufacturing of ammunition and energetics amid an increasingly demanding global security environment.
The government has committed £1.5 billion in additional investment for munitions and related components, identifying at least thirteen potential sites across the country, with construction of the first facility expected to begin next year.
The factories will produce a strategic mix of munitions, propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics to support the British Army as well as ongoing assistance to Ukraine.
Engineering design work for the initial site is already under way, with feasibility studies funded to accelerate the start of high-volume production.
Officials estimate the programme will create at least one thousand new jobs, deepening the UK’s industrial base and enhancing resilience across the defence supply chain.
The new factories will sit alongside two drone-manufacturing facilities opening this week in southwest England under defence growth agreements backed by £250 million, further expanding the country’s advanced-manufacturing footprint.
To underpin long-term production, the Ministry of Defence will publish a procurement note setting out multi-year investment plans and priority materials needed to support sustained output.
The strategy is designed to create a modernised, reliable industrial backbone capable of meeting both immediate military requirements and the demands of prolonged conflict, while reinforcing the UK’s broader defence-economic posture.
The Defence Secretary outlined the plan as part of a broader effort to ensure the country can sustain high-volume manufacturing of ammunition and energetics amid an increasingly demanding global security environment.
The government has committed £1.5 billion in additional investment for munitions and related components, identifying at least thirteen potential sites across the country, with construction of the first facility expected to begin next year.
The factories will produce a strategic mix of munitions, propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics to support the British Army as well as ongoing assistance to Ukraine.
Engineering design work for the initial site is already under way, with feasibility studies funded to accelerate the start of high-volume production.
Officials estimate the programme will create at least one thousand new jobs, deepening the UK’s industrial base and enhancing resilience across the defence supply chain.
The new factories will sit alongside two drone-manufacturing facilities opening this week in southwest England under defence growth agreements backed by £250 million, further expanding the country’s advanced-manufacturing footprint.
To underpin long-term production, the Ministry of Defence will publish a procurement note setting out multi-year investment plans and priority materials needed to support sustained output.
The strategy is designed to create a modernised, reliable industrial backbone capable of meeting both immediate military requirements and the demands of prolonged conflict, while reinforcing the UK’s broader defence-economic posture.
