The UK’s Strategic Defence Review committed to six new munitions factories. Studies have been commissioned into potential sites, but the question of funding remains unclear.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on August 4, 2026.
The UK’s National Armaments Director has awarded £300,000 contracts to 22 companies with the goal of identifying sites for the country’s intended ambition to build six new munitions factories.
Expected to cover both energetics and munition body production, the commitment was made during the 2025 Strategic Defence Review. “Each of the companies selected by the MOD will receive funding of up to £300,000 each to develop detailed proposals to manufacture energetics materials and the appropriate sites which they should be based at,” the July 29 press release from DE&S states.
Results are expected by the end of September 2026 with construction expected to start by the end of the year – an ambitious timeline. Lithuania’s 155 mm plant is already behind as a result of a harsh winter, and it seems that the Latvia factory is also delayed, with a site selected but no groundbreaking ceremony despite a stated ambition of construction in Spring 2026.
The most successful designs will be offered Front End Engineering Design contracts valued at up to £5 million, the press release adds. Thos contracts will cover the engineering design of “at least six new munitions and energetics factories,” it states.
Without stating the companies involved, Commodore Caroline Dix MBE, Deputy Director Lethality and Protect in the National Armaments Director Group said the contracts had gone “to a diverse cohort of companies, from innovative SMEs to major defence primes and major chemical industry partners.”
The challenge of producing explosives in the UK
Manufacturing things like artillery shell bodies is relatively straight forward compared to energetics. All that is required is the machinery, power and the space for a forging facility as well as a load and assembly space, which generally needs to be quite large to minimise damage in the event of an unexpected detonation. It is of course complex, and can go wrong, as the US Army has found, but it is somewhat manageable compared to the risks and concerns involved in energetics production.
Explosives are a different challenge altogether, which is why the UK does not produce any. It is almost completely reliant upon imports for its energetics and propellant; BAE has signed a large contract with Hanwha for the latter, for instance. When it comes to overall production, BAE is already on contract to expand the UK’s output of 155 mm shells by a factor of 16. It has also developed new continuous flow methodologies to produce high explosives and propellants in the UK. This would allow small batches to be constantly produced, rather than the large batches typical of the munitions industry.
However, the NAD announcement suggests that conventional production sites are being sought. This means that the successful sites – for energetics at least – will have to be a at a safe distance from any nearby towns but with good infrastructure links including power and transit. It is also worth noting that the expansion of the BAE Glascoed site, which will load and fill projectiles, is also behind schedule, it was due to open in Summer 2025, but the opening date is now unclear. BAE attributes this to a decision to double the production capacity, but it remains an example of how easily timelines can go awry in large projects.
Calibre comment: Who will pay for the UK’s new munitions factories?
A 105 mm shell body on the production line at the BAE site in Washington, UK. Credit: BAE Systems
The UK’s Strategic Defence Review committed £1.5bn to an “always on” munitions pipeline and six new factories, but it remains unclear how much of that will go toward actual construction. Some industry contacts have suggested that companies may fund the construction of the factories themselves. Other bidders are requesting MoD funding, but the UK’s spending power is somewhat constrained.
This is not unusual, and there are many instances of factories being established and funded using internal funding throughout Europe. However, companies often expect either a guaranteed pipeline of government orders or joint government investment in return for their efforts. The Rheinmetall factory in Lithuania, for example, comes at a cost of around €300 million, with some sources reporting that €133 million of that will be provided by Rheinmetall.
The cost of investment is often expected to be offset by export orders, however, it is worth noting that the UK is coming relatively late to the munitions field, with several other countries establishing energetics and munitions plants throughout Europe. As a result, it will be important for the UK MoD and government to move quickly in setting up the new factories and support those companies in securing export orders where possible.
The lead image shows L21A2 155 mm HE rounds arranged on a pallet during a firing exercise. Credit: Sgt Si Longworth RLC (Phot)/ © Crown copyright.