Bae Systems says that it is about to radically increase its production of 155 mm shells, based on the progress of the way it produces ammunition.
The British defense entrepreneur said that his new production methods are a “major breakthrough” which will allow him to reach an increase of sixteen times in the manufacture of 155 mm shells by summer.
Consequently, he indicates that he will not only be able to meet the request of the United Kingdom, but will also begin to provide exports by the end of 2026.
The announcement comes in the middle of continuous anxiety about stocks in the United Kingdom of key ammunition, after sending half a million Ukraine artillery in February of this year.
It also seems to approach a broader global rush towards reducing dependence on imports and local access to critical resources and manufacturing capacities.
The new approach to Bae Systems is double, affecting the production of explosives and propellants for shells.
A new formulation for propellants has been developed, she said, reducing the need for nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin, composed which are in great demand in several industries in the world.
Meanwhile, RDX explosives – the main explosives in the 155 mm shells – must be produced by continuous flow treatment, a common method in manufacturing but which has not yet been applied in defense.
This essentially means that shells are made in an uninterrupted process on a smaller scale, rather than in large lots, an approach which, in other industries, has led to much greater efficiency.
BAE systems So far, depends on the United States and France for its supply to the DRX.
Trevor Taylor, Director of the Defense program, Industries & Society at the Royal United Services Institute, described the advantages of the new process.
A small -scale process avoids the security risks associated with a single large production plant, Taylor told BI.
He added that the company’s ambition should be “to control costs at lower production rates and to be able to increase production levels by operating more hours if necessary without a large workforce that would be inactive in less pressing times”.
A senior executive in BAE Systems, knowing developments, told Bi that the company planned to sell technology abroad, promoting the ability of other countries to develop a production of sovereign ammunition.
Bae Systems, like other British defense companies, operates in accordance with the priorities of the British Ministry of Defense and does not sell for opponents of the United Kingdom – which means that the new system should not be found in the Russian hands as soon as.
The company is the largest defense manufacturer in the United Kingdom. He won a government ammunition contract of 2.4 billion pounds Sterling ($ 3.2 billion) in 2020, which was increased in 2023 in recognition of the current war in Ukraine.
The company claims that it has invested 163.5 million pounds sterling, or about $ 220 million, in new manufacturing and technology sites in the past five years.
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