Welsh munitions factory seen as crucial to boosting stockpiles is still yet to open

A new factory in Wales seen as crucial to boosting UK munitions production remains unopened more than six months after its planned launch, adding to a string of delays dogging the armed forces.The explosives facility at Glascoed, south Wales, was expected to bring a 16-fold increase in Britain’s capacity to make artillery shells, replenishing dwindling stock and increasing supplies for Ukraine.Production was due to start last summer but has yet to begin, the Guardian understands.Approached for comment, BAE Systems confirmed the delay, saying it was caused by a decision made mid-construction, in 2025, to double the amount of capacity at Glascoed.BAE, Europe’s biggest arms maker, owns the factory, which is part of a sprawling munitions complex that has stood on the site since 1940.Ministers want to sharply increase Britain’s ability to make explosives at home to reduce reliance on other countries for ammunition. Previously, BAE imported RDX explosives, which are used in artillery shells, from the US and France.Donald Trump’s unpredictability on Ukraine, and threats to impose tariffs on Nato countries over Greenland, have heightened concerns over relying on US defence equipment in the future.The delay at Glascoed is believed to be related to a decision to double the amount of capacity the new factory would deliver. Photograph: Maxar/DigitalGlobe/GettyBAE has said Glascoed will drastically increase production of 155mm artillery rounds, delivering 16 times as many as in 2023. The Nato-standard shells are typically fired from mobile field guns.Francis Tusa, a defence analyst, said 155mm rounds were “the bedrock of all armies when they go into war”, so having the right stocks was “essential”.He said the failure to open Glascoed on time was a blow to those plans and that the delays were “obviously very frustrating, not least for the British Army”.The delay comes as the government dithers over military spending. The defence investment plan, which was originally expected last autumn, has faced repeated pushbacks amid warnings that the armed forces face a £28bn funding gap over the next four years.That has already put on hold contracts for Britain’s next generation fighter jet programme, known as Tempest, and for new military helicopters. The pause on the latter has led to doubt about the future of 3,000 jobs in Yeovil, where the Italian manufacturer Leonardo has a factory.The Tempest fighter jet is unveiled at the Farnborough airshow in 2018. Contracts to build the plane are on hold. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/ReutersBAE was producing 3,000-5,000 of the 155mm rounds a year, meaning that even a promised “sixteenfold” increase would only take it up to 80,000 annually, the Guardian understands. By comparison, Germany’s biggest arms manufacturer, Rheinmetall, opened a new factory last year that will allow the country to make 1.1m rounds by 2027.Tusa said: “The lack of a ramp-up of UK onshore in 155mm ammunition means that any army deployments to eastern Europe, or reinforcements to Estonia, would have, currently, enough 155mm ammunition for [only] a few days. Even with 64,000 shells, they could fight for maybe a month.”When asked about Glascoed in early February, Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness and industry, said: “When it comes to energetics, the stuff that goes ‘bang’ in our weapon systems, we need more of that … I want to see more munitions produced in the UK.”The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, visits Rheinmetall’s new munitions factory in Germany before it opened last year. Photograph: Fabian Bimmer/APBAE’s wider Glascoed explosives complex stretches over about 405 hectares (1,000 acres) in Monmouthshire and employs about 870 people. Ammunition that is made at another site in Washington, in north-east England, is sent to Glascoed to be filled with explosives. The new site is not expected to create new jobs because it is mostly automated.The factory is part of a wider £150m investment in munitions sites by the defence company in recent years that encompasses Washington and Radway Green in Cheshire, which makes ammunition for small arms. Glascoed is the only one yet to be completed.A spokesperson for BAE Systems said: “Our fully automated munitions facility is structurally complete and has entered the testing phase.“After construction began, we took the strategic decision to double the output capacity beyond our original design to increase our 155mm production capacity by up to sixteenfold, which had an impact on the schedule.“This is a state of the art facility and as such its essential to take the necessary time to ensure absolute precision and safety for our people. We are also continuing to supply munitions through existing facilities.”Examples of 105mm and 155mm artillery shell casings at BAE Systems in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/GettyBAE declined to comment on when the factory is due to open.Separately, the government has said a further six new munitions factories will be built in the coming years, but has yet to provide details on where they will be.A government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on speculation around our munitions stockpiles, which only serves to benefit [Vladimir] Putin.“We are meeting this new era of threat with the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the cold war, including investing in building the UK’s munitions production to ramp up supplies for our armed forces.”They added: “The Glascoed site’s ongoing development has had no impact on our continuing ability to provide the support Ukraine needs in its fight against Russia’s illegal invasion.”