Rheinmetall UK Welcomes Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard to Telford: Reinforcing Sovereign Capability and Skills

The Minister toured production lines, met with apprentices and engineers, and received briefings on investments that are re-establishing the UK as a global leader in armoured vehicle manufacturing, weapons systems and advanced defence technologies.

Armoured Vehicle Manufacturing

Rheinmetall UK has restored Britain’s ability to manufacture advanced armoured vehicles. The Boxer Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme is now entering full rate production, with the first fully British-built Boxer delivered to the British Army’s Armoured Trials Unit (ATU) in Bovington earlier this year.

With around 75% of the platform sourced through a UK supply chain, Boxer is both strengthening Army capability and embedding UK industrial resilience.

Alongside Boxer, RBSL is leading the £800 million Challenger 3 programme, delivering 148 next-generation main battle tanks with upgraded firepower, protection and digital systems.

The programme has reached a key milestone, with initial mobility trials completed. Pre-production vehicles covered more than 780 km across UK locations, generating critical data, for the programme. Challenger 3 creates and sustains over 750 highly skilled jobs across the UK and strengthening a resilient supply chain of British SMEs.

Strategic Investment & Skills

Rheinmetall UK has invested over £200 million in the UK, including £56 million at Telford alone. These upgrades have modernised infrastructure, expanded production capacity and established a pipeline of advanced skills.

Hundreds of apprentices, graduates and experienced engineers are already working on Boxer and Challenger 3, supported by partnerships with UK SMEs, universities and training providers.

The UK Gun Hall & Future Programmes

A landmark investment at Telford is the UK Gun Hall, a new sovereign facility to manufacture large-calibre weapons on British soil for the first time in decades.

The Gun Hall – part of the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement – will strengthen NATO readiness, secure future artillery programmes, and directly support Challenger 3 and Boxer. The facility will create more than 100 direct jobs, with further opportunities across the supply chain.

By pairing this new sovereign weapons capability with Rheinmetall’s established munitions site in Unterlüß, Germany, the Gun Hall also delivers a resilient, transnational supply chain to benefit both the UK and NATO partners.

John Abunassar, CEO of Rheinmetall UK shared: “We are proud to welcome the Minister and showcase the dedication of our workforce delivering critical capability for the British Army. The UK Gun Hall, alongside our Boxer and Challenger 3 programmes, is proof of Rheinmetall’s long-term commitment to Britain. Together with government and industry, we are investing in sovereign capability, strengthening supply chains and preparing for the future of UK defence.” 

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