‘You need a strong industry’: Telford gun hall brings tank barrel production back to UK
Germany's Rheinmetall has opened a factory in Telford, England, to produce artillery and tank barrels, ending Britain's 20-year inability to manufacture tank barrels domestically.
For the last two decades, Britain has been unable to produce tank barrels without sourcing them from abroad. This dependency ended Thursday when the UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting officially opened a new factory in Shropshire operated by Germany's Rheinmetall, capable of manufacturing barrels for artillery and British tanks.
The facility represents a strategic shift in European defense manufacturing, accelerated by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted a continent-wide scramble to rearm and increase domestic production capabilities.
Rapid Investment
The project moved with remarkable speed, with Rheinmetall's CEO Armin Papperger confirming that investment began 'off the back of a handshake' before Christmas last year with Gen Sir Roly Walker, without waiting for formal contracts. Production commenced just eight months later.
It is not enough to simply out-innovate those who would wish us harm – though we must. We must also out-produce them too. Because advantage increasingly belongs to those who can manufacture at scale and field the capability fastest.
Technical Capabilities
The Telford factory transforms 3.2-tonne, 8-metre cylinders of specialized steel alloy into precision gun barrels through a multi-stage process including drilling, honing, and the addition of spiral rifling for enhanced accuracy. A specialized machine—one of only two in the world—hardens the barrels by applying pressure 15,000 times greater than atmospheric pressure.
Initially, the facility will produce barrels for German-made self-propelled howitzers using Nato-standard 155mm ammunition. Future expansion will include production of 120mm tank barrels for the Challenger 3 tank and a British version of the remote control howitzer planned for after May 2028.
Strategic Importance
Gen Sir Roland Walker emphasized the enduring importance of traditional artillery despite the rise of drone warfare, noting that both sides in Ukraine fire tens of thousands of artillery rounds daily, creating battlefield firepower that drones alone cannot replicate.
The factory will produce 245 barrels annually, with potential to expand to 1,000 yearly if orders increase. Rheinmetall claims their barrels can withstand 4,000 shots compared to Russia's 500, reflecting higher quality despite potentially smaller production volumes.
Broader Context
The Telford investment follows a 2024 agreement between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for closer military cooperation between Europe's two largest defense spenders. Rheinmetall employs approximately 685 people in Telford, though only 35-100 will work in the gun hall.
The project reflects Europe's push to reduce reliance on US arms manufacturers, with European defense companies like Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, and Rolls-Royce benefiting from increased government spending. Rheinmetall's market value has surged from €4.2 billion before Russia's invasion to €47 billion, though it has fallen from last year's peak.
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