Home Affairs Correspondent
The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has demanded an urgent investigation into the UK’s drone exports to Israel after a shocking report revealed that UK-made drone components continued to flow to the country despite a partial arms suspension in 2024.
According to the Declassified UK report published on March 16, parts for the Watchkeeper WK450 drone (including engines) were sent to an Elbit Systems subsidiary in Israel over the past 18 months. Meanwhile, Thales exported advanced radar systems linked to the same drone programme.
The partial suspension of arms licences to Israel, introduced in September 2024, was intended to prevent “the clear risk of serious violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza. Yet, almost immediately after the suspension, the value of licences issued to Israel surged. The government repeatedly insisted that these exports were for re-export purposes.
CAAT’s analysis has identified two of the largest licences: radar exports to Thales worth £120.1 million, reportedly connected to Watchkeeper X drones that Elbit has been contracted to sell to Romania. However, delivery to Romania has not taken place, and evidence suggests that many drone components remain in Israel.
Questions have been raised in Parliament over the UK’s oversight of these exports. In July 2025, Steve Witherden MP co-signed a letter with 56 MPs and Lords demanding clarity on the licences. During a September 2025 evidence session, Charlie Maynard MP asked:
“What burden of proof is on the Government of Israel to demonstrate that they are re-exporting those products, as opposed to using them in Gaza? Why would you not ask for export proof from Israel, so that if it says that it will export these things, it can demonstrate that?”
Chris Bryant, Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade, replied, “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.”
The Watchkeeper WK450, modelled on Israel’s Hermes 450 drone, has faced repeated operational issues, including crashes in Wales, the Irish Sea, Cyprus, and the US. Poor weather reliability forced training operations to move to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and many drones remain in storage.
Despite the UK’s partial suspension, the Watchkeeper X export variant has been sold to Romania. Shipping records show that components – engines and radar systems included – were sent to Elbit in Israel. Promotional footage even shows testing at Fiq airbase in the Golan Heights, territory internationally recognised as occupied by Israel since 1967.
Katie Fallon, Advocacy Manager at CAAT, said, “Despite overwhelming evidence that Israel is committing the most grave of crimes in Gaza, in 2024 the UK government issued licences unprecedented in value for apparent ‘re-export’ out of Israel. These arms licences actively support the Israeli arms industry, including companies such as Elbit Systems, while it plays a critical role in committing genocide in Gaza. Now Israel is breaking contracts to deliver Watchkeeper drones to Romania; drones which include UK components and likely components transferred under these licences.
“We have two clear questions for the Department of Business and Trade: where exactly are these drone components now, and what have they been used for?
“We call for an immediate investigation into the continuous export of drone components from the UK to Israel since the 2024 partial arms suspension, and for the Government to implement end-use monitoring on UK-made equipment for apparent ‘re-export’ out of Israel.”
The case highlights wider concerns about the UK’s lack of monitoring over exported military equipment. CAAT and other experts have previously warned that UK arms intended for re-export have ended up in the hands of unauthorised users, including weapons sold to the UAE that were later diverted to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said the department does not comment on individual licences but insisted that all are “assessed against our strict criteria” and can be revoked if misused.
Feature photo: Steve Witherden MP, Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, co-signed a letter in July 2025 alongside 56 MPs and Lords calling for urgent clarity over UK arms export licences to Israel. (Credit: House of Commons/Flickr CC)
