Britain plans to significantly boost weapons production to reduce dependence on imports from the United States and France. This decision is driven by concerns over the reliability of the U.S. as a military partner due to President Donald Trump’s policies, reported by the Baltimore Chronicle with reference to The Guardian.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey emphasized the importance of strengthening domestic artillery production, drawing on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine.
BAE Systems, the largest defence contractor in Europe, is developing new methods for producing explosives and propellants within the UK to meet the needs of the Ministry of Defence and fulfill export orders.
In particular, the company is establishing production facilities for the manufacture of RDX explosives, which are used in 155mm shells for the British Army.
BAE Systems also plans to build three new facilities to increase resilience and support the scaling up of critical munitions production.
These measures are aimed at strengthening the UK’s defence industry and reducing reliance on foreign arms suppliers.
Earlier we wrote that UK tightens protection of trade documents amid new US tariffs.