Legality of fighter jet transfer from UK to Israel questioned
[An Israeli Air Force F-35 ‘Adir’ (Photo: Ofer Zidon / Alamy)]
The transfer of three new F-35 fighter jets from a British air base to Israel has raised questions about whether their delivery violated arms export sanctions imposed by the Labour government.
The [delivery of the jets][1] through RAF Mildenhall in the Suffolk countryside over the weekend has also left campaigners criticising the use of British bases for activities that contradict UK policy.
Although the site is known for hosting US forces, campaigners said “RAF Mildenhall is a British base and is on UK sovereign territory and is therefore subject to the law and the will of the UK government”.
The Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, a coalition of campaign groups focused on nearby RAF Lakenheath, said “Yet a foreign power has flagrantly gone against the wishes of the UK government.”
The jets, produced by Lockheed Martin in the US, arrived at the British air base on Friday and then departed on Sunday for Nevatim air base in southern Israel.
They [reportedly][2] raise the total of F-35s available to the Israeli air force to 48. The fleet has been [relied][3] upon for Israel’s recent attacks on Gaza, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iran, including civilian sites.
In 2024, the UK government suspended around 30 arms export licences to Israel due to the “clear risk” that they might be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law” in Gaza.
The measures included the suspension of F-35 components directly from the UK to Israel, though left a ‘carve out’ for UK-made F-35 parts sent to a global spares pool.
Sam Perlo-Freeman, research coordinator with the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), said it was “horrendous” that the F-35s were transiting through the UK, but was unsure if the activity violated the ban on direct exports.
“The government should be challenged on how this is legal, and even if it is legal, it’s something they absolutely shouldn’t be doing,” said Perlo-Freeman.
Asked how the transfer of F-35s squared with the ban on direct exports of the fighter jet components to Israel, a UK government source suggested that the 2008 Export Control Order includes exemptions for aircraft transiting through the UK if they were imported as part of a scheduled journey that will end elsewhere.
Peter Lux, an activist with the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, told *Declassified* he was concerned that the planes were being delivered to the Israeli government from an RAF base.
“It is British sovereign territory and the British government has banned certain arms exports to Israel. This goes against that,” he said. “Who is actually in control of that base?”
The post [Legality of fighter jet transfer from UK to Israel questioned][4] appeared first on [Declassified UK][5].
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwyoUaop4p8
[2]: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-883764
[3]: https://www.declassifieduk.org/what-is-the-f-35-fighter-jet-israel-uses-to-bomb-gaza-and-iran/