Rheinmetall Reopens UK Tank Gun Barrel Production in Telford
The Telford gun hall will make barrels and breaches for 120mm and 155mm weapons, and has already created 100 jobs
By AXY Business Desk ·
Key points
- Rheinmetall opened the UK Gun Hall in Telford on Thursday, restarting tank gun barrel production in Britain for the first time in 20 years.
- The site has supported 100 jobs and will make barrels and breaches for 120mm and 155mm weapon systems, including the RCH 155.
- Defence secretary Wes Streeting said the site went from an empty site to full production in eight months.
- Staff were trained at a Rheinmetall facility in Germany before the Telford factory opened, and the company said its workforce will expand as production ramps up.
Production of tank gun barrels has returned to Britain for the first time in 20 years. German defence firm Rheinmetall opened a new manufacturing site, the UK Gun Hall, in Telford on Thursday. The plant will make barrels and breaches for large calibre weapons, and it has already supported 100 jobs. Defence secretary Wes Streeting attended the opening ceremony and said the UK is "back in the business of making weapons" for its armed forces.
For a government minister, a factory opening is a chance to show that money spent on the military stays at home and turns into wages, skills and orders for local firms. That is the case Streeting made at Telford, and the details of the site show how that argument would work in practice.
Eight Months From Empty Site to Full Production
Streeting's main point was speed. He said the site had gone "from an empty site to full production in eight months", and he called this "rapid reindustrialisation in action". Reindustrialisation means rebuilding a country's ability to make things in its own factories, after that capacity has shrunk or moved overseas.
Eight months is a short time for a heavy engineering plant. Machinery has to be installed and tested, staff have to be trained, and each process has to be checked before any finished part can leave the building. Streeting's account puts the Telford site at full production within that window, which is the figure the government is using to show that the project moved quickly.
He also tied the jobs to the wider economy. He said that "one hundred skilled jobs in world class manufacturing and the return of large calibre weapon production to UK soil for the first time in 20 years - this is what defence as an engine for growth looks like". In plain terms, the government is arguing that defence contracts can do more than equip soldiers. They can also pay skilled workers, support suppliers and keep specialist knowledge in Britain.
What a Gun Barrel and Breech Actually Do
A gun barrel is the long metal tube that a projectile travels down when a gun is fired. The breech is the rear part of the gun, where the round is loaded and where the firing mechanism sits. A good breech has to seal tightly, so that the force of the shot pushes the round out through the barrel rather than leaking backwards.
Both parts are built to very exact tolerances, meaning the allowed variation in size is extremely small. They face intense pressure and heat every time a gun fires, and they wear over time. Worn barrels have to be repaired or replaced, which is why an army needs a steady supply of spares as well as the guns themselves.
That is the practical reason the Telford site matters. A country that cannot make these parts has to rely on another country's factories to keep its guns working. Being able to make them at home gives more control over timing, repairs and the skills needed to do the work.
Calibre, and What the 120mm and 155mm Sizes Mean
Calibre refers to the internal diameter of a gun's barrel, usually given in millimetres. Rheinmetall said the Telford site will make barrels and breaches for both 120mm and 155mm weapon systems. Those two numbers describe different kinds of weapons, and the difference explains why the company is interested in both.
A 120mm calibre is the size used on main battle tanks. A 155mm calibre is the standard size for many artillery pieces, which are the larger guns that fire shells over long distances to support ground forces. Making both sizes allows one plant to supply tank-related work and artillery work.
The company named the RCH 155 and what it called "future artillery platforms" as systems the parts are intended for. A platform is the vehicle or mounting that carries a weapon. Naming future platforms suggests the Telford site is meant to support programmes that have not yet been fully delivered, not just a single weapon.
Rheinmetall's Place in Britain's Vehicle Programmes
Rheinmetall already works on British defence projects. The company said it is involved in the UK's Boxer combat vehicle programme and is upgrading the country's Challenger tanks. Boxer is an armoured vehicle used by several European armies, and the Challenger is Britain's main battle tank.
Those contracts give Rheinmetall a steady stream of work in the UK. A local gun production line fits alongside them, because the same vehicles and weapons that the company supports elsewhere in its British work need barrels and breaches as well.
Producing these parts closer to the vehicles that use them is one reason governments like to build domestic capacity. When spares can be made in the same country where the vehicles are operated, deliveries can be quicker and planning can be easier. This could make the Telford site more useful to the British military over time, although that depends on how many orders the plant receives in the years ahead.
Building a Specialist Workforce in Telford
Rheinmetall recruited specialist workers from Telford for the new site. Before the factory opened, those staff spent time at a Rheinmetall facility in Germany. There they were trained in precision manufacturing, quality assurance and specialist weapon production.
Precision manufacturing means making parts to very tight measurements. Quality assurance is the set of checks that confirm each part meets its specification before it is used. Specialist weapon production is the knowledge of how weapon components are made and tested, which is not easy to learn from a textbook.
Training at an established plant before opening in the UK was a way of building those skills before the first real production run. A small error in the bore of a barrel, or in the fit of a breech, can make a part unsafe or unusable. Starting with trained people reduces the risk that mistakes reach the finished product.
Rheinmetall said it would expand its workforce as production ramps up, which means increasing output over time. The 100 jobs already created are the firmest figure so far, and the company's next hiring decisions will show how far the site grows.
Papperger's "Important Milestone" and the Industrial Case
Armin Papperger, chief executive of Rheinmetall, called the gun hall an "important milestone" that would strengthen the country's industrial base "for decades to come". An industrial base is the network of factories, suppliers and trained workers that a country can call on to make and repair its equipment.
Papperger's words present the site as a long-term investment rather than a single contract. That is a useful way to read the project. A factory that opens once does not in itself create a lasting base. What creates one is repeated orders, a supply chain of smaller firms around the main plant, and workers who stay and pass on their skills.
Streeting's case and Papperger's case point the same way. Both see the Telford site as more than one building. The government wants it to show that defence money can support growth, and the company wants it to show that Rheinmetall is committed to Britain for the long term.
Whether Telford's Jobs and Output Keep Growing
The first test is whether the site expands as Rheinmetall has said it will. Hiring more skilled workers in Telford would show that the company can keep building the local workforce the factory depends on. Each new role would also be a job for someone in the town, and a sign that the eight-month build has turned into a working operation.
The second test is whether production keeps pace with the programmes the barrels and breaches are meant to support. These include the RCH 155 and future artillery platforms, and the upgrade work on Challenger tanks and the Boxer programme. If output rises in step with those programmes, the site will have a clear role in British defence supply.
The people most affected are the 100 workers already in post, their families, and the local firms that could supply the plant. For the armed forces, the practical question is whether spare barrels and breaches can be delivered when they are needed. For taxpayers, the question is whether the investment brings lasting skills and jobs, rather than a single opening day.
If both tests go well, the Telford site could become a lasting part of Britain's defence manufacturing, and the return of tank gun barrel production could be remembered as the start of a longer revival. If expansion stalls, the 100 jobs and the eight-month build will still stand as real achievements, but the wider promise of reindustrialisation would be harder to see.
Questions and answers
Why is the Telford gun hall important?
It is the first facility in Britain to produce large calibre gun barrels and breaches in 20 years, according to the report. Rheinmetall says it has created 100 jobs and will make parts for 120mm and 155mm weapon systems.
What does Rheinmetall make at the Telford site?
The UK Gun Hall will make barrels and breaches for large calibre weapons. The company said the parts are intended for 120mm and 155mm weapon systems, including the RCH 155 and future artillery platforms.
Who runs the UK Gun Hall in Telford?
The UK Gun Hall is run by Rheinmetall, a German defence company. The firm is also involved in the UK's Boxer combat vehicle programme and is upgrading the country's Challenger tanks.
Will more jobs be created at the Telford factory?
Rheinmetall said it would expand its workforce as production ramps up. No number for future jobs has been given, so the 100 jobs created so far are the confirmed figure.
Topics: Rheinmetall, Telford, Wes Streeting, Armin Papperger, UK defence industry, gun barrels, Challenger tanks, Boxer vehicle programme
Sources: BBC Business RSS
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