Ukraine War15 July, 20263 min read
UK Delivers First BAE Systems Artillery Barrel Forgings to Ukraine Under £61 Million Contract
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Four initial forged barrels shipped for testing ahead of full production. £61m contract with BAE Systems via Sheffield Forgemasters to produce up to 150 barrels.
First barrels to Ukraine
The United Kingdom has delivered the first four UK-made artillery barrel forgings to Ukraine for testing under a £61 million contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence in 2025 to BAE Systems. The barrels are for 105 mm and 155 mm artillery systems, with Sheffield Forgemasters producing the forgings before final machining and integration in Ukraine into the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MBE MP said the barrels produced in South Yorkshire—"the first made in Britain in almost two decades"—"will help Ukraine on the battlefield, while creating valuable skilled jobs in the UK."
“The United Kingdom has delivered the first four artillery barrels to Ukraine for testing.”
The programme is also tied to the establishment of BAE Systems’ new £25 million artillery manufacturing facility in Sheffield, which is described as fully operational and intended to support around 100 highly skilled manufacturing and engineering jobs. BAE Systems said the deliveries are meant to allow Ukrainian industry partners to validate manufacturing processes before full-scale integration and production activity.
Jobs and national security
On a tour of the plant, Jarvis praised Sheffield Forgemasters as the place where "Steel forged in Sheffield defended Britain in its darkest hours," and he linked the deliveries to creating "good, skilled jobs in the UK." The BBC reported that Sheffield Forgemasters has already delivered four barrels to Ukraine out of a planned 150 under the £61m deal, and that the first four were shipped to help Ukraine test its own manufacturing facilities. The UK government said the programme is the first time forged artillery barrels have been produced in the UK for almost two decades, and it described the work as part of the UK’s package of military support for Ukraine.
The UK Defence Journal said the Sheffield line is now turning out eight forgings a month, with the barrels forged in Yorkshire before being sent to Ukraine for finishing and integration. The programme’s stated industrial aim is to restart domestic defence manufacturing activity of this kind, with the UK Ministry of Defence describing the purchase as necessary to secure "critical" British defence programmes.
Capacity expansion and stakes
Beyond the immediate deliveries, the UK government said Sheffield Forgemasters employs 780 skilled staff and is building a new 13,000 tonne forging line and a 30,000 square metre machining hall as part of an MoD-funded £1.3 billion recapitalisation programme. The Ministry of Defence also said it invested more than £420 million of additional funding in Sheffield Forgemasters last year to bolster sovereign steelmaking for defence, including gun barrels and nuclear submarines. Defence Industry Europe said the programme connects battlefield support for Ukraine with a wider UK push to rebuild sovereign defence manufacturing capacity that had been absent from Britain for nearly 20 years.
“Sheffield Forgemasters manufactures specialist steel forgings and castings used in critical defence programmes and employs 780 skilled staff.”
The Yorkshire Post described Jarvis’s view that this work is "mission critical" to national security, as it underlines Sheffield Forgemasters’ role in supporting Ukraine and UK alliances. The BBC added that the barrels are being produced by Forgemasters and the nearby BAE Systems artillery factory, opened in Sheffield last year by Jarvis’s predecessor, John Healey, as the UK and European allies attempt to increase their ability to manufacture weapons domestically.