2 minute read - 22nd April 2025
BAE Systems close to completing £150m munitions investment
Following more than £150m of investment across its UK munitions facilities since 2022, BAE Systems will deliver a sixteen-fold increase in production capacity of 155mm artillery shells when its new explosive filling facility at Glascoed, South Wales, becomes operational this summer.
A further £8.5m has also been invested in novel manufacturing methods over the last five years, leading to significant breakthroughs in the creation of next-generation explosives and propellants.
The new methods will use continuous flow processing to synthesise explosive material and remove the need for Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerine, which are high in demand across global supply chains, in propellant production.
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BAE Systems is close to completing a £150m investment at UK sites within its munitions division, leading to a sixteen-fold increase in production capacity / Picture: BAE Systems/James Robinson
As a result, BAE Systems anticipates it will be able to produce sufficient explosives and propellants in the UK to meet UK Ministry of Defence and export requirements, with the initial phase of industrial capacity expected by the end of 2026.
Steve Cardew, 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.”
A pilot programme has already demonstrated the technological breakthrough, producing the explosives in small nodes. This technology would eliminate the need for a large-scale explosive factory. The new propellant formulation and associated manufacturing process have been demonstrated across various products, from small arms to large-calibre munitions.
The new technologies are intended to require lower investment and offer greatly reduced running costs. They would also provide enhanced safety in manufacture due to the continuous process, meaning there is less explosive in process at any given time.
As the primary producer of ammunition for the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems supplies a range of munitions, including small arms and artillery shells, from sites across the UK, including in Cheshire, Monmouthshire and Tyne and Wear.
