Maria Eagle MP, Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, visited Telford on 10 January 2025 for an inside look at the Defence Fulfilment Centre (DFC) in MOD Donnington, a cutting-edge logistics hub operated by Team Leidos.
The £83 million facility serves as a crucial component of the UK’s defence logistics network, handling the storage and global delivery of essential inventory, from clothing and medicines to frontline supplies.
During the tour, the Minister highlighted the pivotal role of the DFC in supporting the UK Armed Forces, noting that the centre employs nearly 400 staff and forms part of the Logistics Commodities Services Transformation (LCST) Programme.
Since 2015, the Programme has delivered over £1 billion worth of military supplies, ensuring precise and cost-effective distribution. “Our Defence Fulfilment Centre has supplied more than £1bn worth of military kit to those on the front line,” said John Farrow, DE&S Logistics, Services and Commodities Director.
The Minister was also briefed on the innovative Leidos Support Chain Integration Platform, which leverages advanced technology to streamline inventory management, transport logistics, and supply chain coordination. Simon Hutchings, Leidos Vice President of Logistics and Mission Support, lauded the centre’s impact: “The flexible capacity and strategic network resilience we’ve established have significantly bolstered defence resilience and enhanced our ability to support war fighters with better, more agile adaptive logistics.”
Following the DFC visit, the Minister toured Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land’s (RBSL) Hadley Castle Works Factory in Telford, where Challenger 3 tanks and Boxer armoured vehicles are being produced.
Under an £800 million contract, the Challenger 3 programme has created nearly 300 skilled jobs within RBSL, with an additional 450 roles supported across the UK supply chain. “Telford is at the heart of UK Defence,” said Maria Eagle, “and I was pleased to witness first-hand how our Defence industry is equipping the Armed Forces with 21st-century armoured fighting vehicles.”
The visit underscores the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, which aims to drive economic growth, create jobs, and enhance national security while fostering innovation and regional prosperity.
A swarm of Drones, launched from a van a few miles away? Bang.
The building in question is viewable on Google Earth, and is hard to miss.
What do we do about that?
The problem with saving money by closing lots of bases and having one large one is that the facility in question is now very vulnerable as are other bases at least they have agreements now in place to take pressure off of Marcheood.
Brian, not just one large one. There is also a Defence Fulfilment Centre (hate the trendy civvy term) at MoD Bicester and a new facility at Longtown in Cumbria is currently nearing completion.
Of course, back in the day there were loads of military warehouse sites spread throughout the country including Regional Depots. There was also no expensive contractor, Leidos to pay to manage the places – we used in-house civilians.
Yes these facilities need shorad etc, and ideally be double skinned to stop lighter drone type incursions and yes we need to have storage into hillside bunkers etc. all those ex underground bunker that got sold are they big enough to be logistics hubs? Or at least hold a logistics reserve. Ok will not survive a direct nuclear strike but the rest will be ok ?
But we don’t do stuff like that in the UK. See Covid all the pipe was contracted to a is private firm and no one checked to see how it was and when needed was found wanting with the company folding straight away.
Pipe = PPE
We still use some underground facilities for storage of munitions, and another/s for other kit, which is/was in private hands now.
Bunkers that were sold were predominantly old RSG or ROC posts, which are far too small.
Given the hidden nature of RSGs down obscure little lanes away from population centres, they’d hardly make good logistic hubs.
On Drones, yes, I’d like to see certain sites with both C-UAV, jamming and more kinetic.
Defence Munitions Kineton is the main one. Biggest ammunition depot in Western Europe @ 2200 acres. Wasn’t Hadley Castle Works the GKN/Sankey plant ?