- UK delivers first four UK-made 105mm/155mm artillery barrel forgings to Ukraine to validate manufacturing ahead of full programme integration
- Part of a 2025 MoD contract that could see up to 150 barrels produced, forged by Sheffield Forgemasters and finished/integrated in Ukraine
- Move supports Ukraine’s artillery capability while helping restart UK defence manufacturing; exact Ukrainian systems to receive the barrels remain unclear
The UK has delivered the first British-made artillery barrels to Ukraine as an initial test to determine manufacturing processes ahead of full-scale integration with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Agreed under a £61m ($82.2m) contract awarded to BAE Systems by the UK Ministry of Defence in 2025, the programme will deliver 105mm and 155mm artillery barrel forgings to Ukraine via a UK manufacturing facility.
The first four barrels have been shipped as development forgings, enabling Ukrainian industry partners to validate the items for use in Ukraine’s artillery units. It is thought up to 150 artillery barrels will be manufactured in the UK as part of the agreement.
Manufactured by Sheffield Forgemasters before final finishing and integration in Ukraine, the barrels would “directly support Ukraine’s battlefield capability while sustaining highly skilled jobs… across the UK defence industrial base”, stated BAE Systems in a 15 July release.
The manufacture and delivery mark the first time in almost two decades that defence industrial activity of this kind has taken place in the United Kingdom, which is attempting to restart much of its lost manufacturing base.
UK serving as Ukraine’s artillery hub?
It is unknown which artillery systems the barrels will be intended to equip within the Ukrainian military, which is operating a vast mix of long-range fires platforms donated by Western allies, as well as its domestic Bohdana 155mm howitzer.
However, Ukraine is known to operate the L118 105mm light gun donated by the UK and received the British Army’s entire AS90 155mm self-propelled artillery fleet.
The UK also opened a Sheffield manufacturing site for the M777 155mm towed artillery system, a type widely operated by the US Army. The US also supplied the M119, a licensed version of the L119 Nato-variant of the UK L118 105mm artillery.
Oddly, the site appears primarily dependent on Ukraine for its business, with the British Army not considering operating the M777 due to its immobility, as it also looks to phase out its smaller 105mm L118 towed artillery in 2030.
In time, the UK’s future RCH 155 mobile 155mm artillery platform could offer opportunity for UK industry, although this is yet to be finalised with Germany, which is leading the joint programme development.
