Briefly
The plant in Glascoed (South Wales), which was to form the basis for a significant ramp-up in 155 mm shell production in the UK, has not yet opened. The Guardian reports that BAE Systems confirmed a delay — the cause was the decision to double production capacity.
What happened
Under the original plan, the plant was to begin operations in summer 2025 and provide a substantial increase in ammunition production, including supplies for Ukraine. BAE says the facility is "structurally complete" and is currently undergoing testing, but the project's expansion affected the launch schedule.
"Our fully automated ammunition factory is structurally complete and has moved into the testing phase. After construction began we made a strategic decision to double production capacity beyond the initial design in order to increase 155 mm shell output by up to sixteenfold, which has affected the schedule"
— BAE Systems (company comment, via The Guardian)
Why this matters for Ukraine
Ukraine needs steady flows of long-range ammunition. Even if BAE's claimed sixteenfold increase is realised, the outlet notes: given previous volumes of 3–5 thousand units per year, the increase would mean at most ~80,000 shells annually — far short of the front's needs.
Context: how this compares with Europe
For comparison, last year Germany's Rheinmetall opened a plant that will allow production of about 1.1 million shells by 2027. Those scales show how large the investments and long supply chains are behind ensuring a steady supply of ammunition.
Government reaction and risks
The UK government assures that the current development at the Glascoed site "has not affected our continued ability to provide the support Ukraine needs." At the same time, London plans six more new ammunition plants in the coming years and previously announced a network of up to 13 potential sites across the country (according to statements by Defence Secretary John Healey and official announcements).
"The current development at the Glascoed site has not affected our continued ability to provide the support Ukraine needs in its fight against Russia's illegal invasion"
— a UK government spokesperson (comment, via The Guardian)
What this means in practice
The decision to double capacity up front is logical from a long-term strategy perspective: it's better to build in greater capacity now than to scale up quickly and expensively later. But in the short term this creates a "window" of reduced pace in increasing deliveries, while demand for shells remains high. Experts and investigative journalists point to a gap between ambitions and the real volumes that can be delivered in the coming years.
Conclusion
The takeaway is simple: the UK is betting on a large-scale domestic industrial response, but its pace and volumes still lag behind the largest European initiative (Rheinmetall). For Ukraine this means support from the UK will remain important, but not synchronised with peak battlefield demand — so diplomacy, coordination with partners and diversification of supplies remain critical tasks.
