After 20 years, UK Will Resume Manufacturing Barrels for Tanks and 155 mm Artillery Systems
Rheinmetall has opened a facility in the UK to manufacture large-caliber gun barrels. Thanks to this, the country will resume their production for the first time in nearly 20 years.
This was announced by the UK Ministry of Defence and Rheinmetall on October 22.
The new UK Gun Hall facility is located in Telford. The opening ceremony was attended by British Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting, Chief of the General Staff Roly Walker, and Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger.
The plant will manufacture barrels and breech blocks for 120 mm tank guns and 155 mm artillery guns.
The products are intended, in particular, for the modernized Challenger 3 tanks and RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled artillery systems.
The production complex covers an area of 11,500 square meters. Once operating at full capacity, it will be able to produce up to 245 gun barrels of both calibers and more than 50 breech blocks annually.
It took just eight months to retrofit the site and get production up and running. Production of the first breech blocks began in May 2026, and production of gun barrels began in June. Over the past five years, the German conglomerate has invested over £200 million in the development of its British facilities.
“One hundred skilled jobs in world-class manufacturing and the return of large-caliber weapons production to the United Kingdom for the first time in twenty years—this is what defense as an engine of growth looks like,” Wes Streeting stated.
The project is being implemented as part of the defense-industrial cooperation between London and Berlin, as provided for in the Trinity House agreement. It is intended to strengthen national capabilities and reduce dependence on foreign arms suppliers.
Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the British Army had ordered 72 RCH 155 wheeled self-propelled howitzers to replace the AS90s transferred to Ukraine. The contract, worth nearly £1 billion, calls for significant localization of production.
Specifically, steel from Sheffield Forgemasters will be used to manufacture the artillery barrels, while KNDS UK will be responsible for producing the Boxer chassis, engines, and transmissions at its facility in Stockport.
Also, in January 2026, the Challenger 3 successfully completed its first live-fire tests with a crew. The vehicle is equipped with a 120 mm L55A1 smoothbore gun, and the military plans to acquire a total of 148 modernized tanks.
Source: Militaryni
