Committee publication · Correspondence · 15 April 2026
Letter from the Campaign Against Arms Trade relating to drone components supplied to Israel, 24 March 2026
From: Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls
Inquiry: Arms exports to Israel
Summary
Campaign Against Arms Trade writes to the Business and Trade Sub-Committee chair requesting investigation into UK export of drone components to Israel since the September 2024 partial arms suspension. The letter details exports of Watchkeeper drone components by Elbit subsidiary U-TacS and Thales radar systems to Israel, despite government assurances these were for re-export to Romania. The campaign calls for end-use monitoring and demands transparency on component location and use.
Key findings
- Elbit-owned U-TacS (Leicester) exported dozens of Watchkeeper drone components to Israel over 18 months, including engines and harnesses, with some shipments explicitly mentioning the Watchkeeper programme in 2025.
- UK approved £127.6 million in military equipment licences to Israel October–December 2024 (post-suspension), more than 2020–2023 combined; two Thales radar licences totalled £120.1 million, ostensibly for Romanian export.
- Elbit filed force majeure declaration citing Gaza situation as preventing delivery of Romania contract; drone components appear to have remained in Israel despite government claims of re-export intent.
- Government asserted no burden of proof on Israel to demonstrate re-export compliance; Parliamentary questions and Committee scrutiny (July 2025, September 2025) have not yielded transparency on component location or use.
- Campaign calls for investigation into continuous exports since partial suspension and implementation of end-use monitoring on UK-made equipment marked for re-export.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Campaign Against Arms Trade, Liam Byrne MP, Elbit Systems, UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS), Thales, Katie Fallon, Chris Bryant, Department of Business and Trade
Notable line
“… despite repeated Government assurances that the equipment was for re - export, the contract with Romania has not been delivered, and these parts for drones appear to have remained in Israel.”
Key Quotes
“… in September 2024 the Government implemented a partial suspension of arms licences to Israel, including for components for drones, due to the clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Israel in Gaza.”
“Export licensing figures published by CAAT show that the UK approved licenses for £127.6 million worth of military equipment to Israel in single issue licenses between October to December 2024. This is a massive increase, with the figure in this three - month period totalling more than 2020 - 2023 com bined.”
“Because our relationship is with the exporter. If there were to be any evidence at any point that that is not where it was ending up, that would be a breach of the licence, and we would be able to revoke.”
“Elbit filed a declaration of "force majeure" with Romania, saying the situation in Gaza had affected its "ability to fulfil its contractual obligations".”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗