A modern munitions factory is being built in Hampshire and could be coming to Portsmouth amid plans to restore “industrial heartlands”.

The facility will be one of 13 new sites being built to support the Royal Navy, Army, RAF, and Royal Marines. It will produce ammunition and explosives, as the UK aims to boost its warfighting readiness - which has recently come into question. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that Hampshire has been earmarked as a suitable place for the factory, with specific sites being looked into.

Defence secretary John Healey said: “For too long our proud industrial heartlands saw jobs go away and not come back. We are changing that. Bringing new hope. This is a fundamental shift from the failed approach of the past.

New factories will be built to produce long-range weapons for the Royal Navy, Army and RAF. Pictured: Louise Holmes, MBDA UK Deputy Managing Director, shows Mr Healey a storm shadow missile on an assembly line at the MBDA Storm Shadow factory on May 31, 2025 in Stevenage, England. | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

placeholder image — New factories will be built to produce long-range weapons for the Royal Navy, Army and RAF. Pictured: Louise Holmes, MBDA UK Deputy Managing Director, shows Mr Healey a storm shadow missile on an assembly line at the MBDA Storm Shadow factory on May 31, 2025 in Stevenage, England. | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

“This is a new era of threat, but the opportunity of this new era is a defence dividend from our record investment, measured in good jobs, thriving businesses, new skills for the British people. We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts. This is the path that delivers national and economic security.”

Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin, Labour, is campaigning for the site to be built locally. She said: “Portsmouth is the proud home of the Royal Navy and has a long legacy of good and vital jobs that support our Navy.

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“I said my number one priority was bringing jobs and investment for our area and that’s exactly what Labour’s defence investment will deliver. Our region includes several major defence sites, including here in Portsmouth, where we will deliver key warship support, and on the Isle of Wight where they develop radar technology.”

The defence secretary said he expects the first factory to break ground next year, with the entire scheme bringing in at least 1,000 new jobs. These roles will include high-skilled engineers, electricians, machinists, construction workers, and fitters.

The project is supported by £1.5bn worth of funding. A total of 38,700 defence industry jobs are supported in the south east of England, with regional defence investment increasing by £650m on the previous year.

Other factories are being built in Monmouthshire, Cumbria, Dumfriesshire, Ayrshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Worcestershire, Pembrokeshire, and Stirlingshire.