Britain needs to expand ammunition production and produce more gun barrels, defense experts say

Ukraine needs ammunition as it continues to try to break through Russian defensive lines. Credit: Ignacio Marin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukraine's advantage in the war against Russia is threatened by the failure of the UK and its allies to ramp up arms and ammunition production, the report says.

The Royal United Armed Forces Institute (RUSI) has urged the UK to urgently produce more gun barrels and ammunition and speed up procurement decisions.

Jack Watling, senior fellow at the Royal United Armed Forces Institute, said Ukraine's allies needed too much time to decide to support the Ukrainian counter-offensive, despite the fact that back in July last year it was clear that a strike would be carried out.

He wrote: «By all accounts, it was clear that Western capitals needed to expand the production of ammunition and key spare parts such as barrels.»

Delays «proved to be very costly» for Ukraine due to Russia's weakness in early 2023 of the year. could not be used, and the training of Ukrainian forces with donated new equipment had to be accelerated.

Mr Watling said: “Western governments have been developing long-term strategies for decades and managing small-scale short-term crises such as terrorist attacks. It appears that the institutional memory of how to link the operational level of warfare has atrophied. This disease is fixable, but only if we acknowledge that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

War in Ukraine sees destocking artillery shells in the UK. Photo: Lorne Campbell

“The war in Ukraine has also highlighted significant shortcomings in the governmental machinery in NATO countries. The most egregious shortcoming is the inability of Ukraine's partners to estimate the time between decisions and their desired effect.”

The UK has ordered £280m worth of artillery shells and other munitions after being criticized by Parliament. Defense Committee for allowing stock reductions. The March report said that it would take a decade for stocks to recover.

According to Mr. Watling, NATO members, including the UK, can source materials from international markets, but NATO's coordinated efforts to increase production would be more beneficial.

The UK does not have machine tools for making large-caliber gun barrels, but can build one, he said. Participation in this project will provide high-quality jobs and contribute to the government's upscaling program.

“But there was no such far-sighted thinking. Now the time to remedy these deficiencies may be shorter than the remaining ammunition stocks.»

A Defense Ministry spokesman said: «As the first European country to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, we continue to seek every opportunity to meet the most important Ukrainian needs at the pace required, including through industry and international partners.

“We have allocated £2.3 billion in military support in 2022 and are committed to maintaining this level of military support to Ukraine in 2023. In addition, since June 2022, together with our allies, we have trained more than 20,000 Ukrainian troops.”