The government has confirmed that none of the six new munitions factories announced as part of the Strategic Defence Review have begun construction, with feasibility study contracts not yet placed and investment decisions not expected until the third quarter of 2026.
Conservative MP James Cartlidge tabled three questions asking what progress had been made on delivering the six factories, whether construction had begun on the first, and how many had begun construction.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard gave the same answer to all three, stating that feasibility studies were planned to be contracted in spring 2026 and to conclude in August 2026, and that the MoD intended to announce investments in quarter 3 2026 “with a view to beginning construction of the first factories before the end of the year.”
The answer confirms that no construction has begun, that contracts for the feasibility studies which will inform investment decisions have not yet been placed, and that investment announcements are still months away. If the timeline holds, construction of the first factories would begin at the earliest in the final months of 2026.
The six munitions factories were announced as part of the Strategic Defence Review as a significant step toward rebuilding the UK’s domestic munitions production base in the context of sustained demand for ammunition created by the war in Ukraine and as part of a broader effort to ensure the UK could sustain military operations and reduce reliance on external supply chains.
Construction of industrial facilities requires significant planning and feasibility work before ground can be broken, and the programme remains at an early stage.
If the wider public cared about defence this would be a scandal to bring down a Government.
Two years into a Parliament and no sign of the DIP or this promised build.
It will get worse if Labour get hammered in the local elections as they will try and ditch Starmer , and the alternatives would be even more incapable. Can’t see defence getting more money under a harder left administration who would spend the next two years bribing benefit claimants to vote for them.
I am hoping for a miracle in the form of Al Cairns. But it is a very long shot.
That’s why I find it crazy people want starmer out the other options are a bit scary to be honest.
‘Pour encourager les autres’
Starmer and his cabal of legalese are a waste of space – in 2 years he’s ordered 1xRCH155 that’s it! No FJ no increase in RN hulls announced/ ordered. Meanwhile he’s hounding veterans in the courts. The only bit of the armed forces to grow has been the LEGADS.
As for Reform they can’t do worse than the treasonous lot we have in power (they at least has Defence at 2.5% of GDP in their manifesto at the last election).
Yeah Reform, full of the worst of failed Tories, remember the Tories the party than ran defence into the ground, You’ve a short memory. Also full of liars, racists spivs and populists. You are aware of how the councils they have been put in charge of are doing aren’t you. Council taxes up, when they said they would go down.
Agree most political parties are full of fools but if you think Reform are the answer you really need to give your head a wobble. That is the same attitude that gave us Brexit and look at the state we are in because of that. We have much less money to spend on everything including defence because of that stupid decision.
I agree the tories ran defence into the ground with labour also playing their part. All of the parties are full of liars, racists, nazis and treasonous vipers – Reform hasnt been in charge – the blob has! If by populist do you mean a striving enterprise economy, a small state, a non politicised police force, control of borders, free speech and a strong national identity?
And if you are so delusional that you think that they care, plan, know or even want to deliver ANY of that if they get in. I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Well, Fedex, there’s fuck all other parties close a position of power, Greens would literally surrender, Labour Out, Tories not again, Reform and Restore, the only new parties that are so hated by the blob that they might just be able to force shit through the blob in an effort to seriously equip this nation. Even off the shelf options from our European allies and US purchases of items that Europe just can’t replicate. If it were up to you, we’d have nothing but more Delay under Labour or a Labour Left that would rather cut more and more for the welfare bottom feeders.
What a sad, angry, irrational, little cult member you are. The blob.🤣, deary me.
What about the subject matter being discussed? Any thoughts on the ammunition production situation?
Absolutely, the SDR states “Timelines will be dependent on the complexity of the proposals. MOD anticipates that construction of the first new energetics of munitions factory will begin in 2026.”
If this is meant to be the case they better get their fingers out if they haven’t even decided on the locations yet….no rush though not much happening in the world that would mean that it is urgent or anything like that..
The MoD has not yet done feasibility studies on factory locations? Feasibility studies to be contracted out? Why? Surely ‘Defence Estates’ have people who could do feasibility studies.
I thought they should all be half-built by now!
We are ruled by people whose only interest is courting votes and pushing agenda’s
Those MP’s who have sat behind a PM over the last 40 years and said nothing should be the first on the firing line if a conflict erupts.
The bull that comes from Pollard over the last months. Did anyone honestly think these 6 munitions factories will go ahead.
I cN see the DIP being scrapped under the pretence it’s out of date.
Construction will not start until end of 2027 unless the sites already have planning permission and DEFRA permits. The permits and permissions cannot be applied for until the design is completed which hasnt been done in UK since WW2. For a project of this size there will also be considerable MOD approval needed. Why doesnt Defence Industry put its own hand in its own pocket and build themselves instead of waiting for tax payer cash to further increase their profits. It was announced too early, as always with labour. The only thing they jave achieved is to tax thw working with VAT on school fees. They shlould be proud.
‘Why doesnt Defence Industry put its own hand in its own pocket and build themselves instead of waiting for tax payer cash…’
Maybe because the business plan makes no sense?
Because all defence is to do with government orders. Would you spend money buiding a house without knowing whether you were going to get planning permission?
The business model must be difficult, would need support of government if trying to maintain skills and facilities after the required stockpile has been achieved.doubt there would be overseas sales
As with so much in this country, we know what to do because we have done it before.
The state owned Royal Ordnance Factories (ROF) utilised a government sales organisation, International Military Sales, to achieve export sales.
Since then, defence exports have been hedged about with regulations that militate against any export led business model. Consequently the engineering led British defence sector rarely takes the initiative in product development without government funding.
Added to that, there is an anti defence mentality across the academic and financial sectors.
Until we have a government prepared to make the case for the defence sector (and defence spending in general) being an engine for growth and engineering excellence, backed by something like a return to the regulatory environment of 1990, government owned munitions factories will be nothing more than expensive and hideously inefficient white elephants…and we have definitely been there before…
Go on then, who actually voted for these clowns ? 🤔😁
Apparently no one did. 🤔
Yup, It seems that way !
Never voted Labour in my life, proud to say.
Stopped voting Tory since 2015 as well apart from the emergency of 2019 to stop a certain JC running my country.
you get arrested in uk if you say who voted for them.
Absolute joke. Liebour are a disaster. Not like there’s multiple wars going on right now, with 1 being in Europe and going to be a third with china invading Taiwan at some point.
Russia has a higher chance of invading the Baltics in the next 5 years then even one of these factories being built in the same timeframe.
But than again its Labour, got to save money for union pay rises and migrant benefits
Russia isn’t going to invade anything; it can’t even handle Ukraine. Stop imagining it, especially with the 90 billion euros the European Union will give the Ukrainians. It’s even likely that Putin will be ousted in the face of the invasion disaster, and whoever comes in will be more inclined to surrender once and for all. The problem is that there’s a war in the Persian Gulf, China will invade Taiwan, and the Argentinians might be tempted, given the disastrous British defense, to invade the Falklands—that is, if Starmer doesn’t get the idea to sell them to the Argentinians first.
What will the Argentinians invade with? They have no way of transporting a brigade to the Falklands quickly enough to overcome the garrison before the UK could deploy reinforcements in the form of 16th AAB, that’s assuming the can gain air superiority.
Unfortunately Chile now supports the Argentinian claim…
Have you spoken to anyone in the Baltic States, Poland, Moldova, recently…you know…the countries that actually are spending over 4% of GDP on defence…
It’s a good thing we are on a war footing and working at pace because I would be worried.
Dreadful administration, even worse than the last lot.
Its all a total waste of time. As Ken Livingstone once said ‘if voting changed anything they would abolish it.’
How is it worse? The budget has gone up slightly and agreed they are seriously dragging their feet on the review but it’s not 14 years of incompetence/lack of investment/lack of actual orders of that last government that led to the current mess.
The next time Starmer prattles on about defence I really hope the interviewer takes him to task over the utterly shambolic state of defense but we have a better chance of Farage telling the truth.
Pues tristemente Farage es el unico que haria algo mas por la defensa , al menos reduciria la inmigracion ilegal, el gasto social y habria mas dinero para armamento aunque por supuesto no me fio de ningun politico, lo que esta claro es que de seguir mucho tiempo este gobierno el Reino Unido quedara desarmado completamente. Con los conservadores no seria muy diferente. Ya se vio en los 16 años anteriores.
Farage will do nothing for defence . Btw taking about stopping illegal immigration in Spanish, great idea, not.
Farage at least pledged 2.5% of gdp on defence at the last election
When Starmer gets asked about defence he plays the same old Record were putting the biggest defence increase since the cold war 🙄
This. It’s the journalists fault, they are clueless and don’t pull him up on it with the details of what it comprises.
I’ve gained $17,240 only within four weeks by comfortably working part-time from home. Immediately when I had lost my last business, I was very troubled and thankfully I’ve located this project now in this way I’m in a position to receive thousand USD directly from home. Each individual certainly can do this easy work & make more greenbacks online by visiting
following website—.,.,.,.,.—>>> JobatHome1.Com
What are they playing at? Trying to outdo Nero? Fiddling while our defences burn?
Stupid countries build Tanks, UK has the best think tanks
Think or thick tanks
Haha.
I hope everyone knows that in current media-education complex culture building an ammunition factory is akin to human rights violation.
Yup, need to change public perception about defence. It should be seen more as insurance policy a deterrence to other countries not to push their luck. Hard power is necessary and probably the British public are understanding that more from the news. Labour have to ideologically flip from social spending to defence and I don’t know what the Tory excuse was. Crimea 2016 should have started a steady defence build strategy. The bear was on manoeuvres.
Labour party DNA is no defence spending
A nightmare for the armed forces labour they only want to lock up veterans .
Oh I am sure it can wait, it’s not important no rush. I have said it before and I will say it again Luke Pollard and Al Carns are two men of the same spineless political knee taking Neo-liberal elite that Starmer is. They are praying Poland and Germany hold back the Slavic hordes so we can count that Friday feeling as a mental illness and give anyone and everyone a big fat welfare check. Cut the bullshit Starmer, make Russian GCSE compulsory and stop pretending you have any interest in defence let alone putting the UK on a war footing. The whole Cabinet should be in the Tower and I don’t mean Blackpool.