The LDSF site will be used to store equipment for all of the UK’s military services. Credit: DE&S

A new defence materiel and equipment site that will be used to store vast quantities of spare parts for the UK Armed Forces will soon begin operations, the latest in a series of programmes intended to improve the country’s logistics capabilities.

Dubbed Longtown Defence Storage Facility (LDSF), the £98.5m ($132m) facility will be managed by the UK’s Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), itself an arm of the country’s Ministry of Defence (MoD).

At 76,000m², the LDSF site will provide secure storage for “mission critical operational materiel and inventory”, the MoD stated in a 29 April release, adding the move would improve supply chain operations and “significantly increase” departmental storage, including large spare parts used by the British Army, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy.

The LDSF site includes offices and has been built at an expense of nearly £100m. Credit: DE&S

The Longtown site will also ensure assets and capabilities at existing Defence Fulfilment Centres in Donnington, Shropshire and Bicester, Oxfordshire are more readily available to meet surges in demand, optimising support and delivery to those on the frontline when they need it most, the MoD stated.

Les Millar, DE&S Logistics, Services and Commodities Head of Strategy and Special Projects, said the completion of the LDSF would allow UK to be “better prepared” for military threats and was a “leap forward” in material storage capacity.

Day-to-day operations will be managed by Team Leidos and overseen by DE&S, with an official opening ceremony planned for later in the year. 

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UK looks to logistics and supply chains

The LDSF milestone is the latest in a series of programmes being undertaken by the UK to improve its ability to more effectively store military platforms and equipment in modern hubs.

In 2024 the UK’s new MoD Ashchurch site welcomed its first platform through its doors, a British Army Trojan armoured engineering vehicle, as part of the Vehicle Storage and Support Programme (VSSP) to deliver improved long-term storage capabilities to the UK military.

Often underappreciate, logistics sites such as MoD Ashchurch will greatly improve the UK’s storage and supply chain operations. Credit: Skanska

Signed in the summer of 2022, the VSSP’s first completed asset – an administration building for military personnel – was handed over earlier in August 2024, with all building activity set to conclude in 2027. The site will be able to store hundreds of military vehicles and armoured platforms.

The two-phase VSSP will provide vehicles with Controlled Humidity Environment (CHE) storage, reducing maintenance costs and unnecessary deterioration caused by extreme drops or rises in temperature.

The facility will also include dedicated inspection and maintenance spaces, as well as office space.