[1] On the 20 August 2008 the Ministry of Defence announced a £2bn contract with BAE Systems to supply British forces with small arms and medium calibre ammunition,[2] guaranteeing production at the Radway Green site until at least 2023.
[5] On 21 January 1985 a former quality controller at the factory was sentenced to six years imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal, three charges of theft and asking for eight other offences to be taken into consideration.
After the thefts were discovered, it took a team of four Ministry of Defence Police officers a fortnight to recover around £26,000 worth of goods stolen from the factory (which included a rocket launcher) from the man's house in nearby Alsager.
[6] The thefts were believed to date back at least ten years,[7] and the prosecution stated that there was some evidence that the man had also stolen from ROF Chorley when he was based there.
The intention of test-firing is to check for proper function and performance within contract requirements such as reliability, consistency (e.g. velocity tested via gun chronograph) and accuracy at various distances from the muzzle etc.