The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has placed a new GBP 20 M (EUR 23 M) order with BAE Systems for the supply of additional small arms munitions over the next two years, BAE Systems announced on 14 November 2023.
The 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm rounds will be produced at the company’s Radway Green facility in Cheshire, which offers some of the most advanced ammunition production capabilities in the world.
The announcement follows the signing of a GBP 410 M order for the supply of vital battlefield munitions to the UK MoD this September, when the ministry exercised an option to increase a GBP 280 M supply order announced in July this year.
Glynn Plant, managing director of munitions at BAE Systems, was quoted as saying in a company press release, “We are proud to support the UK MoD as a strategic partner for munitions supply. The significant orders we have secured throughout the year has seen our teams increasing production rates, investing in people and new facilities and maximising shift patterns to meet this enhanced demand.”
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was quoted as saying, “In an increasingly contested world it is crucial that our forces are equipped to meet the threats of the future. Through contracts like these, with the best of some of our homegrown industry, we are continuing to ensure that we replenish and equip our forces, supporting jobs right across the UK.”
