Britain announces plans to dramatically increase arms production, building at least six new factories
British Defense Secretary John Healey has just announced an ambitious plan for extensive rearmament, including investing $2 billion to build at least six new ammunition and explosives factories.
The move comes ahead of the UK Government's Strategic Defence Review being announced on June 2.
According to the plan, in addition to building new factories, Britain will also promote the purchase of more than 7,000 domestically produced long-range weapons, including drones and missiles.
Secretary Healey also pledged to raise defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2034.
In a statement on May 31 (local time), Mr. Healey emphasized that the painful lessons from Russia's military actions in Ukraine show that military power can only be solid when backed by a corresponding defense industry.
“We are strengthening the UK’s industrial base to enhance deterrence, ensure national security and a strong international standing,” he said.
The conflict in Ukraine has exposed significant gaps in Western arms production capacity, with senior British officers reportedly warning for months about depleting weapons stockpiles.
However, opposition politicians have questioned the timing of the announcement, pointing out that arms procurement has stalled over the past year.
Mr James Cartlidge - who holds the role equivalent to Defence Secretary in the Conservative Party's shadow cabinet - said: "We welcome investment in new ammunition factories, but we do not know when they will be ready, only that these orders should have been placed many months ago."
The UK has been one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in its conflict with Russia, and European NATO members are also looking to increase military support for Kiev amid concerns that the US, under President Donald Trump, could cut aid.
On Russia's side, Moscow has repeatedly warned that Western countries' military aid to Ukraine will only escalate the conflict without changing the final outcome.
Russian officials also accused former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of encouraging Ukraine to abandon peace talks in the spring of 2022 – a claim Mr Johnson has denied. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the denial a “blatant lie”.
