Moscow, April 21 (Sputnik) – Britain is preparing to significantly increase production of RDX explosives used in 155mm NATO caliber artillery shells in order to break away from its dependence on ammunition production in the United States and France, The Times reported, citing defense companies.
The report said that the large British defense company BAE Systems is the only domestic producer of 155mm caliber artillery shells and needs to import RDX (RDX) from the United States and France. However, under the policy background of US President Trump, British and European defense companies have given up purchasing American equipment.
The report said: “BAE will expand the production of 155mm caliber artillery shells within two years , with plans to increase it 15 times.”
It is reported that BAE Systems is preparing to abandon American parts or materials for the production of ammunition, circumvent the constraints of the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and sell these ammunition without any restrictions from the US side.
NATO countries are using 155mm caliber shells. The United States provided Ukraine with 155mm caliber M777 long-range howitzers, which were actively used by the Ukrainian army to shell cities in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian army also received German PzH 2000 self-propelled artillery units, Polish Krab self-propelled artillery units, and French Caesar self-propelled artillery units, all of which use shells of this caliber.
Russia believes that supplying weapons to Ukraine hinders the resolution of the conflict and directly involves NATO countries in the conflict, which is “playing with fire”. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov pointed out that any materials containing weapons sent to Ukraine will become a legitimate target of Russia. He said that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict, not only supplying weapons, but also training personnel in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and other countries. The Kremlin said that the West’s supply of weapons to Ukraine will not help negotiations and will have a negative impact.
