Britain to ramp up weapons production to end reliance on US and France
21 April 2025, 08:38
Britain is set to ramp up its weapons production in a bid to end reliance on the United States and France.
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It comes as Britain and its European allies look to move away from a close relationship with Washington amid fears Donald Trump has made the United States an unreliable partner.
According to a new report, UK Weapons manufacturer BAE Systems is investigating new methods to make explosives in Britain in a bid to meet the Ministry of Defence and export requirements.
The company has been developing sites across the UK to produce RDX explosives, used in 155mm rounds for weaponry in the British army, the Times reports.
BAE Systems is ultimately looking to increase “resilience and support our ramp-up of critical munitions production,” the report added.
Rachel Reeves has pledged to make the UK a defence industrial superpower
Earlier this year, Sir Keir Starmer announced an increase of £13.4billion in defence spending to combat "tyrant" Vladimir Putin’s growing military ambitions.
He said that the government would spend 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2027 - an extra £13.4 billion pounds paid for by slashing the UK’s foreign aid.
Defence Secretary John Healey described Britain’s defence industry as “the foundation of our ability to fight and win on the battlefield”.
He said: “Strengthening homegrown artillery production is an important step in learning the lessons from Ukraine, boosting our industrial resilience and making defence an engine for growth.”
The RDX explosives BAE Systems is looking to produce in the UK are usually sourced from the US and France.
Steve Cardew, the business development director at BAE Systems’ maritime and land defence solutions, said: “Our leap forward in synthetic energetics and propellant manufacture will strengthen the UK’s supply chain resilience and support our ramp up of critical munitions production to meet growing demand in response to the increasingly uncertain world we’re living in.
“It also supports economic growth through high-skilled jobs and potential export opportunities.”
