Rheinmetall has officially opened its UK Gun Hall in Telford, re-establishing the independent production of large-calibre weapons in Britain for the first time in decades.
The new site was inaugurated at a ceremony attended by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on 22 October 2026.
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The facility, spanning 11,500m2, will produce 120mm and 155mm weapon systems, key components for the British Army’s Challenger 3 main battle tank and future artillery platforms.
According to Rheinmetall, the plant is designed to deliver up to 245 barrels and more than 50 breeches annually at full capacity, responding to rising demand from the UK, Nato, and international customers.
Production milestones have already been reached, with breech and breech block manufacturing beginning in May 2026, followed by barrel production in June.
The company stated that these achievements, completed just eight months after the transformation of the Telford site began, demonstrate the group’s ability to quickly deliver on sovereign capability commitments.
Plans are in place to further localise the facility’s supply chain, with Rheinmetall intending to incorporate British steel from Sheffield Forgemasters into weapon system production in future.
The company indicated this step aims to reinforce domestic suppliers and support the UK steel industry.
The Telford Gun Hall is expected to underpin more than 100 highly skilled jobs as output increases.
Currently, 35 people work at the new facility, with Rheinmetall employing around 685 staff in the Telford region overall.
The company emphasised that this forms part of a broader investment valued at over £200m ($268m) across its UK operations over the past five years.
In support of the project, UK employees completed specialised training at Rheinmetall’s Unterlüß site in Germany, gaining expertise in precision manufacturing and quality assurance.
The company has also recruited specialist talent from the local area and signalled continued work with British SMEs to strengthen supply chains as production scales up.
Rheinmetall AG CEO Armin Papperger said: “Today’s opening is an important milestone for Rheinmetall and for the United Kingdom. In a remarkably short period of time, we have turned our commitment into a sovereign manufacturing capability that will strengthen Britain’s defence industrial base for decades to come.
The Gun Hall project also demonstrates the UK-German defence partnership under the Trinity House Agreement, signed in October 2024, which aims to deepen cooperation between the two countries and reinforce Nato’s collective deterrence.
The opening of the Telford facility comes as the UK government continues to signal its aim to make defence an “engine for growth,” seeking to both support the Armed Forces and drive wider economic activity within the country’s industrial sector.
The government allocated £298bn over a four-year period through its Defence Investment Plan, aiming to use defence expenditure to stimulate economic growth and generate long-term, skilled employment across the UK.
