In response to a parliamentary question posed by Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, regarding the sharing of F-35 flight mission data files with the Israeli Air Force, the Ministry of Defence provided a clear answer.
Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, stated succinctly:
“No.”
The question specifically asked whether the UK had either shared such mission data with Israel or received any such files from them since October 2023. The unequivocal response highlights that no exchange of F-35 flight mission data files has occurred between the two nations’ air forces during the specified timeframe.
The brevity of the response leaves little room for interpretation, confirming no collaboration in this particular aspect of F-35 operations between the UK and Israel.
Recently, we reported that the Minister of State for the Department for Business and Trade, Douglas Alexander, clarified that Elbit Systems UK had not exported drones to partner companies in Israel under individual export licences.
Alexander stated:
“Exports of these items from the UK would be subject to an export licence. Our records indicate that we have not issued any individual export licences for Israel to the company for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) referenced.”
The Minister explained that Elbit Systems UK is registered under two Open General Export Licences (OGELs), which theoretically allow for the export of UAVs to Israel. However, he emphasised that these licences only cover specific circumstances:
- Transfers supporting UK Government defence contracts, such as products delivered back to the UK.
- The return of military goods temporarily imported for exhibitions or demonstrations.
Additionally, Alexander reminded Parliament of the Government’s decision to suspend export licences for military goods to Israel that could potentially be used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in military operations in Gaza.
This suspension was announced by the Secretary of State on 2 September 2024.
Further, the UK Government has addressed recent parliamentary questions concerning the distribution of F-35 aircraft components and their potential transfer to Israel.
Maria Eagle, Minister of State for Defence, responded to two separate queries regarding the movement of F-35 parts, highlighting the UK’s limited control over and involvement in the global logistics of the programme, which is led by the United States.
When asked about the proportion of UK-exported F-35 components ultimately received by the Israeli Government since October 2023, Maria Eagle stated:
“The global distribution of F-35 components is controlled by the US Government-led F-35 programme. The Government does not have visibility of F-35 components distributed by the programme to each F-35 nation and is unable to provide an estimate.”
This highlights the centralised nature of the F-35 programme, where logistics and distribution are managed by the US Department of Defense.
A separate question raised by Clive Lewis MP sought clarity on whether F-35 parts had been sent from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024. In her response, Eagle confirmed:
“At the request of the US-led F-35 Programme, there were 14 transfers of F-35 components from RAF Marham to Israel between October 2023 and August 2024. The transferred components are the property of the US Department of Defense.”
Eagle also noted that, following the Government’s September announcement on arms exports, there have been no direct transfers of F-35 parts to Israel via RAF Marham since the licensing suspension.
Shameful, even more because its an hit against defence of UK. Israel have much more to share than vice versa.
But it is what to be expected from Fabians and Marxists.
Look at the dates from 2023..essentially Britain and Israel have not shared data in 3 years, so it’s got very little to do with anything going on now any probability simply means they have no reason to share..have we shared with Italy, Norway, Australia? I bet not.
Israel don’t operate the Bravo variant?
I think it more likely we are working with Italy, Japan et al in SVRL etc. That is where our resource focus should be.
A better question would be “Why hasn’t data been shared with Israel”
Why is this flippant question even being asked ?
What difference would it have made to anyone in the UK if the data had been shared with Israel?