Defence in brief: UK orders artillery barrels for Ukraine

The UK has ordered new production of 155 mm artillery barrels valued at £61 million from BAE Systems and Sheffield Forgemasters according to a 22nd January press release from DE&S. The contract will restart the forging of steel blanks for large calibre artillery barrels, a process that has been dormant in the UK for close to 20 years. The barrels will be produced in Yorkshire and then sent to Ukraine for finishing and integration, the press release states. 

Forgemasters is a British government-owned entity and it is investing in a large new machining hall in Yorkshire with new five-axis vertical turning lathes built to a bespoke specification for the firm by WaldrichSiegen. The previous Conservative government took a strong stance on returning production capabilities to the UK, which is beginning to show results. The return of barrel production is a necessity that the UK has lacked for many years, relying instead on barrels from Germany. Ukraine is rapidly depleting its supplied artillery barrels, so an additional manufacturer able to meet its needs will be very valuable, although it is not clear when the barrels will be delivered and in what quantities. 

Furthermore, the UK is sending additional Gravehawk air defence systems to Ukraine this year. Gravehawk has been developed in the UK and funded by the International Fund for Ukraine. It is the size of a shipping container and is designed to retrofit air-to-air missiles and use them in a ground-based air defence role. Two prototypes have been deployed since last year, with 15 more to follow this year. Ukraine is understood to have had a large stock of R-27 and R-73 air-to-air missiles at the start of the war, which it has struggled to employ due to the losses imposed on its air force. Using them in the GBAD role, albeit as a short range system, may therefore be quite beneficial.