UK plans to expand manufacturing of arms
(MENAFN) According to Defense Secretary John Healey, the UK is set to pour $2 billion into building new weapons factories as part of a major rearmament initiative.
This announcement comes just before the release of the government’s Strategic Defense Review on Monday. The plan envisions at least six new factories to produce munitions and explosives, alongside an order for more than 7,000 domestically manufactured long-range weapons, including drones and missiles. Healey also vowed to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2034.
Healey stated in an announcement on Saturday, “the hard-fought lessons from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind it.”
Adding, “we are strengthening the UK’s industrial base to better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
The war in Ukraine has exposed weaknesses in Western arms production capabilities. Senior British military officials have been warning for months about depleted stockpiles.
Some opposition figures have criticized the timing of the announcement, pointing out that progress on procurement had stalled during the past year.
Conservative shadow defense secretary James Cartlidge stated, “we welcome investment in new munitions factories, but we don’t know when they will be ready – only that these orders should have been placed months ago.”
The UK has remained one of Ukraine’s most committed supporters in its war with Russia, as NATO allies in Europe have sought to boost their military aid amid concerns that the US, under Leader Donald Trump, might lessen its support for Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly claimed that foreign military aid will only make the conflict worse without changing its final outcome. Russian officials have also accused former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson of persuading Ukraine to abandon peace negotiations in spring 2022—an accusation Johnson has denied. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, however, dismissed his denial as a “blatant lie.”
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