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Has Elbit Systems UK been involved in the manufacture and supply of weapons to the Israeli military – a claim the company strongly denies?

By Yousra Jenkal on
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For several years, Elbit Systems UK has been at the centre of a contentious debate over the role of British-registered defence firms in supplying military technology linked, directly or indirectly, to the Israeli armed forces.

Activists, campaign groups and investigative journalists have all argued that components produced in the United Kingdom have entered weapons systems used by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). This charge has weight when placed against the fact that a UN Commission found in September 20205 that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Elbit Systems UK and its subsidiaries, however, have consistently denied manufacturing or exporting weapons or complete military systems to the Israeli military (Campaign Against Arms Trade, 2025; Declassified UK, 2025).

For context, Elbit Systems UK is the British arm of Elbit Systems Ltd., Israel’s largest privately owned defence company. The parent company manufactures a broad range of military equipment, including drones, electronic systems and more. In its own product descriptions, Elbit states that its unmanned aerial systems form the “backbone of the Israel Defense Force’s” drone fleet (Elbit Systems, n.d.). Because the parent company supplies significant equipment to Israel’s defence sector, the presence of Elbit facilities and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom has drawn sustained scrutiny from civil society groups and researchers examining international arms supply chains.

One foundation of the claim that Elbit Systems UK is connected to Israeli military supply chains is the record of export licences held by UK-based companies linked to the Elbit group. According to analysis compiled by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), several companies associated with Elbit Systems have obtained UK military export licences for goods destined for Israel (Campaign Against Arms Trade, 2025). These companies include Instro Precision Ltd, which produces targeting and imaging equipment; UAV Engines Ltd, which manufactures engine components; and UAV Tactical Systems Ltd (U-TacS), a joint venture between Elbit Systems and Thales UK responsible for the Watchkeeper drone programme.

Under UK law, companies exporting controlled military technology must obtain either individual export licences or operate under Open General Export Licences (OGELs), which allow the export of certain controlled goods to approved destinations under specified conditions (UK Government, 2024). Elbit Systems UK is registered to several OGEL categories relating to unmanned aerial vehicles. In practice, this means that exports of certain drone-related components can occur under pre-authorised conditions without the need for individual licences for each shipment.

Government statements provide some clarification on the extent of these authorisations.

In response to a parliamentary written question, the Department for Business and Trade confirmed that while export licences to Israel had been reviewed following concerns about international humanitarian law, the government would not comment publicly on the licence status of individual companies (UK Parliament, 2025). The government has also stated that no individual export licences for military aero-engines have been issued to Elbit Systems UK since 2008, although one temporary licence was issued to a related Israeli entity within the corporate group.

While export licences demonstrate that companies have been authorised to export controlled goods, they do not confirm whether shipments actually took place or how the items were ultimately used. Investigative reporting has therefore attempted to identify documentary evidence of exports from the United Kingdom to Elbit facilities in Israel.

An investigation published by Declassified UK reported that cargo documentation indicated shipments of defence-related components from UK-based companies to Elbit sites in Israel between 2023 and 2025 (Declassified UK, 2025). The documents reportedly show equipment being exported from Instro Precision facilities in the United Kingdom to Elbit factories in Israel.

The same investigation reported shipments from other UK companies supplying parts and materials to Elbit facilities. For example, aerospace supplier Incora was reported to have shipped specialised fasteners to an Elbit facility in Karmiel in 2025, while the engineering firm Permoid was documented sending ammunition containers to Elbit Systems Land in Ramat Hasharon between 2023 and 2025 (Declassified UK, 2025).

Some companies involved in these exports have stated that their products are not intended for direct use by the Israeli military, while the UK government has at times justified allowing exports by arguing that certain equipment is not destined for use in Gaza operations.

The debate surrounding Elbit Systems UK also concerns the corporate relationship between the British subsidiary and its Israeli parent company. Evidence presented during court proceedings relating to protests against Elbit facilities indicated that profits generated by Elbit Systems UK ultimately flow to the parent company in Israel, which retains overall corporate control (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2025).

Activists argue that this financial connection, combined with the export of components and the parent company’s extensive involvement in Israeli defence production, demonstrates that UK-based entities contribute indirectly to Israel’s military capabilities.

Elbit Systems UK disputes this interpretation. The company maintains that it complies fully with UK export controls and that its operations do not involve the direct manufacture or export of weapons to the Israeli military. Of note, in several cases, local authorities and organisations in the United Kingdom have withdrawn or amended statements alleging that Elbit UK supplies military equipment directly to the IDF after the company challenged such claims.

What is clear is that Elbit Systems UK has been at the centre of a contentious debate over the role of British-registered defence firms in supplying military technology linked, directly or indirectly, to the Israeli armed forces.

But, in the absence of transparent end-use verification mechanisms, absolute proof that UK-made parts have been incorporated into specific IDF weapons systems remains elusive in the public domain. The available export licence data, reported shipping records and the parent company’s established position within Israel’s defence sector indicate that UK-based entities associated with the Elbit group have, at minimum, a documented connection to supply networks linked to Israeli military equipment. But Elbit Systems UK continues to deny directly manufacturing or exporting weapons to the Israeli military, and the public record does not conclusively establish direct transfers of complete weapons systems by the UK entity itself.

Whether that constitutes a direct supply of arms to the IDF depends on one’s interpretative framework, but the factual record supports a nuanced assessment of involvement rather than a simple binary of supply or non-supply.

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