The United Kingdom has taken the first step towards a significant boost in Ukraine's artillery potential. BAE Systems, working under a government contract, has delivered the first four prototype artillery barrels. These items will serve as the basis for testing in real combat conditions before full-scale integration with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Revival of British Defense Industry

The delivery of barrels is part of a major agreement worth $82.2 million. Under this contract, up to 150 barrels of 105 mm and 155 mm caliber will be manufactured at production sites in the UK. Production has been launched at the Sheffield Forgemasters plant in the city of Sheffield.

The launch of this facility is of strategic importance to the United Kingdom. This is the first time such defense industrial activity has been resumed in the country in the last twenty years. Britain is trying to restore a significant part of its lost production base, also opening a line for the production of the American towed M777 system in Sheffield.

The Paradox of the British Order

Experts note an interesting nuance: the British Army does not plan to operate M777 systems due to their immobility. Thus, the revived plant in Sheffield is effectively dependent on the needs of the Ukrainian army. It remains unclear for which specific artillery systems the first four delivered barrels are intended.

Ukraine's Artillery Park

The Ukrainian army operates a wide range of long-range guns, including Western supplies and its own 155-mm "Bohdana" howitzer. Among the foreign systems actively used on the front, the following stand out:

  • British 105-mm light gun L118;
  • AS90 self-propelled artillery units of 155 mm caliber;
  • American M777 howitzer.

A special place in the arsenal is occupied by the Ukrainian "Bohdana" howitzer. It is increasingly being used on the front, becoming the main alternative to both Soviet and Western systems. The main advantage of the "Bohdana-B" is the high speed of production and lower cost.

Artillerymen note that the Ukrainian howitzer can outperform the American M777 in accuracy due to a longer barrel and a greater number of rifling grooves. In addition, the barrel life of the "Bohdana-B" reaches 8,000 shots, which significantly exceeds the indicators of the M777, where this figure is about 4,700 shots.