Forgemasters delivers first of 150 artillery barrels under £61m defence contract

The first artillery barrels forged in Britain for almost twenty years have begun arriving in Ukraine, marking a significant milestone in the UK's efforts to re-establish domestic heavy weapons production and support Kyiv's defensive campaign against Russian forces. Sheffield Forgemasters, the historic South Yorkshire steelworks that was nationalised in 2021 to secure critical defence programmes, has already delivered four of an eventual 150 barrels under a £61m contract agreed last year with the Ministry of Defence. The 105mm and 155mm barrels, produced in partnership with the nearby BAE Systems artillery factory that opened in Sheffield last year, are being integrated into Ukrainian artillery systems and are expected to help Kyiv test its own domestic manufacturing facilities.

Visiting the plant on Wednesday, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis underscored the historical resonance of the enterprise, observing that "steel forged in Sheffield defended Britain in its darkest hours". He continued: "The barrels produced here in South Yorkshire – the first made in Britain in almost two decades – will help Ukraine on the battlefield, while creating good, skilled jobs in the UK." The factory is now producing eight barrels per month, with production expected to ramp up further as the contract progresses. The announcement comes as the UK and its European allies accelerate efforts to expand domestic weapons manufacturing capacity in response to continued threats from Russia and growing recognition that European defence industrial bases have atrophied since the Cold War's end.

Mr Jarvis framed the project as part of a broader strategic imperative, stating that production of the barrels was about "rearming Europe by reindustrialising places like South Yorkshire". The initiative represents a tangible outcome of the government's commitment to revitalise the UK's defence manufacturing sector, following last year's pledge to invest more than £420m in Sheffield Forgemasters to support its defence manufacturing programmes. The company's nationalisation in 2021 was justified at the time by the Ministry of Defence as necessary to secure "critical" British defence programmes, and the current artillery barrel contract appears to vindicate that decision, demonstrating the strategic value of retaining sovereign manufacturing capability for heavy ordnance.

The first four barrels have already been shipped to Ukraine, where they are expected to help Ukrainian forces sustain their artillery operations amid intensifying Russian bombardment of civilian and military targets. The 105mm and 155mm calibres represent standard NATO artillery rounds, ensuring interoperability with Western-supplied systems, and the barrels themselves are forged from specialised steel alloys capable of withstanding the extreme pressures and temperatures of sustained artillery fire. The revival of British artillery barrel production, which had ceased in the UK nearly two decades ago, reflects a wider European push to reduce dependency on foreign suppliers and ensure that allied nations can sustain their own military assistance to Ukraine without exhausting their own stockpiles. The Sheffield plant, with its blend of historic forging expertise and modern manufacturing techniques, has thus become a symbol of the broader defence industrial renaissance that Western governments are now racing to achieve in the face of an increasingly assertive and aggressive Russian military posture.