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Race to rearm: Telford gun hall brings tank barrel production back to the UK
UK NewsBusiness•October 22, 2026 at 5:59 PMNational

Race to rearm: Telford gun hall brings tank barrel production back to the UK

By Jasper Jolly•The Guardian - UK News

Defence secretary says Britain must manufacture at scale as Germany’s Rheinmetall opens Midlands factory For the last 20 years, Britain was unable to put a barrel on its tanks without buying from abroad. Relying on foreign allies seemed like a reasonable choice during years of relative security (for wealthy countries at least) after the end of the cold war.But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has changed the calculation – and prompted a scramble to rearm among European countries, including the UK. Continue reading...

Defence secretary says Britain must manufacture at scale as Germany’s Rheinmetall opens Midlands factory

For the last 20 years, Britain was unable to put a barrel on its tanks without buying from abroad. Relying on foreign allies seemed like a reasonable choice during years of relative security (for wealthy countries at least) after the end of the cold war.

But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has changed the calculation – and prompted a scramble to rearm among European countries, including the UK.

Continue reading...