UK Restarts Tank and Howitzer Barrel Production as US Army Seeks New 155mm Tube Makers

Two allies acted on large-caliber cannon production within 48 hours. On 22 October the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence announced that Rheinmetall UK had begun producing barrels and breeches for 120mm and 155mm weapons at its gun hall in Telford, a day after the US Army Contracting Command–Rock Island posted a notice on SAM.gov seeking domestic manufacturers for the 155mm cannon tubes fitted to the M109 Paladin and M777 howitzers.

The Ministry of Defence said the Telford hall supports 100 skilled jobs and manufactures barrels and breeches for both 120mm and 155mm weapon systems, "including for RCH 155 and future artillery platforms". The ministry described the opening as the return of large-caliber weapon manufacturing to UK soil for the first time in two decades. According to the release, Rheinmetall UK took over the facility in autumn 2025 and moved from an empty site to full production in eight months, with the workforce trained at Rheinmetall's plant in Unterlüß, Germany. The Defence Secretary opened the hall alongside the Chief of the General Staff and the chief executive of Rheinmetall AG. The ministry presented the plant as part of the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement signed in October 2024.

The US move is a market survey rather than an order. The Sources Sought notice, reference W15QKN-27-X-1CTG, was posted on 21 October by Army Contracting Command–Rock Island on behalf of the Project Manager Howitzer Systems. It asks industry for domestic sources able to manufacture the M284A2 155mm cannon tube used on the M109A6 and M109A7 Paladin and the M776 cannon tube of the M777A2 towed howitzer. Respondents are asked to describe a path to producing 10 tubes a month within 36 months, with capacity in place within 18 months, and to give a rough cost estimate for an initial batch of 40 tubes. The notice specifies tubes up to 30 feet long and 7,500 pounds and asks about autofrettage, rifling and chrome bore coating. The Army states the notice is "for planning purposes only" and is not a solicitation.

Defense News reported on 22 October that Watervliet Arsenal in New York is the Army's only large-caliber cannon tube maker, and that a 2024 Army budget document said the use of the M777 in Ukraine had created demand for more than 30 tubes a month.

The two tube types serve the US Army's main 155mm howitzers. GlobalMilitary.net's inventory data lists 391 M777 in active service with the US Army, alongside 370 M109A6 Paladin active and 850 in storage, and 300 M109A7 active with 389 more on order. The M777 is also in service beyond the United States: the same data records 150 with Ukraine, 145 with India, 90 with Saudi Arabia, 48 with Australia and 33 with Canada. The Army received its first XM1776 wheeled howitzer earlier this month as it searches for an M777 successor (GMN, 13 October).

On the British side, the ministry tied the Telford hall's 155mm output to the RCH 155. For the British Army, GlobalMilitary.net's inventory data lists 285 Challenger 2 tanks in active service and 148 Challenger 3 on order, 72 RCH 155 wheeled howitzers on order, and 14 Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzers active as an interim system. These holdings feed GlobalMilitary.net's ranking of the world's armies.

Responses to the US Army notice are due on 23 November 2026. In the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Defence said Rheinmetall UK will expand the Telford workforce as production ramps up.