Business · Companies · 5 hrs ago
Tank barrel production returns to the UK after 20 years
A new factory in Telford has restarted UK gun barrel production after a 20-year gap.
The site is run by German defence company Rheinmetall, and UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting attended its opening.
It is making barrels for artillery weapons, with production of tank barrels also planned; the facility can make barrels for 120mm and 155mm weapons.
The factory supports 100 skilled jobs.
Britain had relied on overseas suppliers for tank barrels, but Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has led European countries, including the UK, to increase defence production.
Army chief Gen Sir Roly Walker said artillery fire remains important because drones cannot match its volume and firepower.
Rheinmetall is considering making more ammunition in the UK, with a decision expected within six to eight months.
The UK has resumed production of tank gun barrels after a 20-year gap, at a new Rheinmetall facility in Telford.
The UK Gun Hall has started production of barrels for artillery and is expected to make 120mm tank barrels as well.
The facility will make barrels and breeches for 120mm and 155mm weapon systems and supports 100 jobs.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the factory showed rapid reindustrialisation and the return of large-calibre weapon production to the UK.
Rheinmetall began investing before a formal contract, and its chief executive said a decision on producing more ammunition in the UK was expected within six to eight months.
- Who
- Rheinmetall, a German defence company, operates the UK Gun Hall. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting attended its opening.
- What
- Gun barrel production has returned to the UK after 20 years. The facility will make barrels and breeches for large-calibre weapons.
- When
- The facility opened on Thursday, 22 October 2026. Production began eight months after investment started.
- Where
- Telford, Shropshire, England.
- Why
- Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted a European rearmament effort, including in the UK.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed the UK’s assessment of its defence production needs.
Rheinmetall began investing in the Telford facility after a handshake with Gen Sir Roly Walker, before a formal contract.
Production of the first barrels at the Telford factory had started.
The UK Gun Hall opened in Telford.
- Location
- Telford, Shropshire
- Operator
- Rheinmetall
- Jobs
- 100
- Production gap
- 20 years
- Weapon systems
- 120mm and 155mm
- Artillery range
- Up to 30km (18 miles)
3 sources
What people are saying
From an empty site to full production in eight months, this is rapid reindustrialisation in action
It is not enough to simply out-innovate those who would wish us harm – though we must. We must also out-produce them too. Because advantage increasingly belongs to those who can manufacture at scale and field the capability fastest.
In Ukraine, we know that both sides fire tens of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition every day, and that generates a weight of fire and levels of lethality across the battlefield that drones alone cannot replicate