Defence News – Late January 2025
Estimated reading time 3 minutes
A Yorkshire-based defence company will begin the production of barrels for the first time in almost two decades, as the UK ramps up its military supplies to Ukraine in 2025.
The UK placed a £61 million contract with defence giant BAE Systems to produce the barrel forgings, working with Sheffield Forgemasters. The barrels will be produced in Yorkshire, before being sent to Ukraine for finishing and integration.
British soldiers are set to benefit from 623 new state-of-the-art Boxer armoured vehicles, as the first fully British-made Boxer was unveiled at the International Armoured Vehicle Conference today in Farnborough.
- First fully British-made Boxer armoured vehicle unveiled at the International Armoured Vehicle Conference
- Boxer production supports 400 jobs in the West Midlands and North East and 1,000 across the UK supply chain.
- Army equipment programme will create and sustain more than 6,000 jobs nationally, delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.
The Boxer programme provides a huge boost to British industry, supporting around 400 jobs in Telford and Stockport, and a thousand across the UK supply chain, supporting the Government’s growth mission.
Delivering on the government’s Plan for Change, the Ministry of Defence is also developing a Defence Industrial Strategy to grow defence jobs in every region and nation.
A £9bn deal for nuclear submarine reactors has been agreed between the Ministry of Defence and Rolls-Royce – the biggest ever between the two.
Defence Secretary John Healey will announce the agreement on Friday during a visit to the firm’s nuclear reactor production facility in Derby.
The eight-year contract, called Unity, is designed to make the design, manufacture and support services for reactors more efficient and environmentally friendly. It is hoped it will create more than 1,000 UK jobs and safeguard 4,000 other roles.
Babcock and Patria have signed a memorandum of understanding to offer the Patria 6×6 Armoured Personnel Carrier to the UK Armed Forces to meet the operational requirements of the British Army.
Under the terms of the agreement, Patria will lead on the design and development of the system, providing bespoke enhancements to its existing 6×6 platform. Babcock will lead on the build solution, in keeping with the UK Ministry of Defence Land Industrial Strategy, as well as developing a platform support package that will maintain operational readiness of the vehicle throughout its life.
