Overview
- At least 13 candidate locations have been identified for new explosives and ammunition plants, including Grangemouth, Teesside and Milford Haven, with the MoD stressing no final site decisions have been taken.
- The list surfaced after a redaction error in a freedom of information response, prompting an MoD apology for the breach of confidentiality.
- Defence Secretary John Healey says industry is expected to break ground on the first facility next year, with a procurement note setting out requirements for nine key energetic materials published today.
- The programme includes £1.5bn of funding from the Strategic Defence Review and a commitment to at least six factories this Parliament, with the government citing roughly 1,000 jobs.
- Feasibility studies are under way and officials have held ‘Project Nobel’ talks with foreign firms about producing TNT, RDX and nitrocellulose, as MPs warn the UK lacks a coherent homeland defence plan and relies heavily on US support.