At MSPO 2026, BAE Systems is putting 155mm artillery ammunition centre stage – not simply as a product on display, but as the industrial foundation of a deeper British-Polish partnership designed to strengthen Poland’s sovereign munitions supply and NATO’s eastern flank.
Displayed at the company’s stand, BAE Systems’ 155 mm ammunition represents more than five decades of service with the British Army. Now, through its cooperation with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), the Polish Armaments Group, it is also becoming a prominent symbol of Poland’s drive to expand domestic production of critical large-calibre ammunition.
A round with real weight
In an era in which artillery has regained its central position on the battlefield, the 155mm round has become a measure of both military endurance and industrial resilience. BAE Systems’ NATO-compliant 155 mm ammunition is compatible with Polish military platforms and interoperable with standard charge, fuse, and primer combinations – an essential requirement for forces operating within the Alliance.
For the British Army, these rounds have delivered firepower capability for more than 50 years. At MSPO, however, the message is broader: ammunition availability is no longer only a logistics issue. It is a strategic issue involving national security, supply-chain control, skilled employment and the ability to sustain operations over time.
From display stand to production line
The centrepiece of the BAE Systems–PGZ cooperation is a Memorandum of Understanding and strategic industrial partnership intended to establish a new 155 mm artillery ammunition manufacturing facility in Poland.
Under the planned arrangement, BAE Systems will transfer manufacturing technology and know-how to PGZ, enabling Poland to expand its national production capability for a munition now regarded as indispensable in high-intensity conflict. The future plant is expected to incorporate automated manufacturing technology equivalent to that being introduced at BAE Systems’ UK facilities.
That UK automation programme is set to provide a 16-fold increase in BAE Systems’ 155 mm shell production capacity. Applying comparable technology in Poland could give PGZ a substantial industrial step-change, pairing British manufacturing experience with Polish production capacity and an increasingly capable national defence-industrial base.
Building Polish ammunition sovereignty
The strategic importance of the partnership lies in its potential to reduce dependence on overseas suppliers. Poland’s ability to manufacture critical ammunition domestically would strengthen the country’s supply-chain resilience while helping it respond more rapidly to national requirements in an increasingly volatile security environment.
PGZ has stated an intention to raise production capacity to between 150,000 and 180,000 large-calibre rounds per year. Construction activity for the new facility is planned to begin this year, with completion anticipated in 2027–2028. The programme is also expected to create hundreds of highly skilled jobs in Poland, reinforcing not only output capacity but also the national engineering and manufacturing skills base.
For Poland, the objective is clear: turn ammunition supply from a potential vulnerability into a sovereign industrial capability. For BAE Systems, the cooperation builds on an established long-term relationship with Polish industry and broadens a partnership already rooted in 155 mm production and wider defence collaboration.
Strengthening NATO’s eastern flank
The implications extend beyond Poland’s own armed forces. Greater domestic availability of NATO-standard 155mm ammunition would enable Warsaw to make an even more resilient contribution to collective defence on the Alliance’s eastern flank.
The BAE Systems–PGZ programme therefore combines three interlocking priorities: reliable artillery firepower, resilient national supply chains and industrial interoperability with NATO allies. The round on display at MSPO may be familiar in calibre, but the industrial model behind it is anything but routine.
At BAE Systems’ stand, the message is unmistakable: the future of 155mm ammunition is not just about firing more rounds – it is about building the capacity to keep firing when it matters most.
Photos by J. Roukoz
