UK Delivers First British-Made Artillery Barrels to Ukraine Under £61 Million Contract

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Image: UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026

The United Kingdom has delivered the first of 150 British-made artillery barrels to Ukraine. A £61 million contract with BAE Systems is backing the programme, which also supports hundreds of jobs in Sheffield, as per a recent press statement.

Sheffield Forgemasters is manufacturing the 105mm and 155mm gun barrels under a deal the UK Government awarded to BAE Systems. President Zelenskyy announced the contract last year. The move marks the first time the UK has produced forged artillery barrels domestically in almost two decades.

Sheffield Forgemasters employs 780 skilled staff and produces specialist steel forgings for critical defence programmes. More than 60 UK supply chain businesses will benefit from the work. The Ministry of Defence owns the company, which also supplies the civil nuclear and offshore energy sectors.

Forgemasters is building a new 13,000-tonne forging line and a 30,000 square metre machining hall. The expansion forms part of a £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme funded by the Ministry of Defence.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MBE MP visited the company for the first time in his ministerial role, having previously toured the site as Mayor of South Yorkshire. Jarvis commented that steel forged in Sheffield once defended Britain and will now help Ukraine on the battlefield. He added that the £298 billion Defence Investment Plan is reindustrialising places like South Yorkshire while strengthening national security.

The work builds on BAE Systems’ new £25 million artillery factory in Sheffield, which opened earlier this year and created 100 further jobs. Sheffield now produces eight forgings a month, with the first four barrels shipped to Ukraine as development forgings. These will help Ukraine test its own manufacturing processes, supporting the UK’s wider military assistance package.

Read more on the UK MoD website

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