Britain’s largest arms company has benefited from £1bn in government science subsidies over the last 30 years, it can be revealed.
More than 600 research grants for UK universities went on joint projects with BAE Systems.
Tens of millions of pounds in other state handouts for universities helped fund internships at the company.
BAE is a highly profitable weapons manufacturer whose boss earned £13.5m last year.
It provides components for Israeli war planes and has seen its share price rise by around a third since October.
Emily Apple from Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) commented: “It is outrageous that such vast sums of money are flowing from the public purse to the UK’s biggest arms company to facilitate research that is causing death and destruction across the world.
“Urgent action is needed to immediately sever the ties between arms companies and our academic institutions.”
The grants were awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), a public body.
It is tasked with distributing government research grants to universities for science, technology, engineering and mathematics projects.
The council is a branch of UK Research and Innovation, which falls under the Department for Science.
A UK Research and Innovation spokesperson said: “EPSRC provides funding to UK universities to pursue research collaborations with industry, in support of our mission to advance knowledge and deliver a sustainable, resilient and prosperous UK.”
A BAE Systems spokesperson told Declassified: “We invest significantly in skills, innovation and partnerships and are proud to work with academia to develop technologies that help deliver military capability and protect national security.”
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Corporate welfare
Around £933m of government science grants for universities has gone on projects with BAE since 1994, according to a Freedom of Information (FoI) response from UK Research and Innovation seen by Declassified.
If the figure is adjusted for inflation, it amounts to approximately £1.3bn in today’s prices, of which at least £27m has been awarded since Israel’s invasion of Gaza.
BAE did not clarify, when asked, whether it contributed financially towards any of the research grants.
CAAT told Declassified: “This is money that could have been spent on research into technology that saves lives. Instead it’s been used to fuel wars and develop the type of military equipment Israel is using in its genocide in Gaza.”
Israel’s war – which has seen tens of thousands of Palestinians killed – sparked occupations at dozens of campuses where students protested against university investments in arms companies.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign says UK universities currently invest around £422m in arms, automotive and financial firms that have aided Israel’s displacement of Palestinians.
However direct collaboration with weapons firms like BAE has so far flown under the radar.
The FoI response reveals how the University of York accepted a grant worth over £8m for an artificial intelligence project in partnership with BAE and other organisations beginning this April.
By that point Israel was already under investigation for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
‘Quantum gravity sensing’
BAE supplies the Israeli military with a number of key technologies including systems for naval drones, missile guidance and components in fighter jets used against Palestinians in Gaza.
Incredibly sophisticated experimental and mathematical techniques go into the design and production of this equipment. This includes quantum physics, which has applications for military stealth technology.
The University of Birmingham has received two grants since 2015 with a total value of around £80m in partnership with BAE for developing “UK Quantum Technology Hub Sensors and Timing”.
BAE hopes that developments in “quantum gravity sensing” – mapping environments by detecting variations in gravitational fields – will enable the company to overcome limitations in traditional electromagnetic radiation-based sensing.
Imperial College London received a grant worth around £400,000 in 2005 for research into “structural health monitoring” techniques – using ultrasonic waves to locate damaged areas within materials.
This has direct applications for producing aircraft fuselages – the same type of component that BAE Systems supplies to Lockheed Martin for the Israeli air forces’ F-35 fighter jets.
Research funded by the EPSRC is published openly, allowing any industry to use its findings, including those working on civilian technology.
A member of the EPSRC’s advisory council, Professor William Wright, was BAE’s Strategic Technology Director until 2022. Declassified understands he has recused himself from any council discussions which could benefit BAE.
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Internships
Connections between universities and weapons manufacturers go beyond grants for research projects.
Future BAE workers can effectively have their training subsidised through a funding stream called Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science & Engineering (ICASE).
These are part-financed by EPSRC alongside companies for projects designed to give students experience of conducting industry research relevant to the firm.
A total of well over £100m has been awarded for these kinds of projects with BAE since 2002, of which the company is required to contribute between 25-40%.
Cranfield University was awarded around £440,000 in 2017 for a studentship with BAE focused on the design of “small-calibre guided projectiles”.
One condition of receiving an ICASE grant is that the partner institution offers the student a minimum three month work placement to build up their CV, although it can last much longer.
Over 120 PhD students have worked with BAE since 2010 under this scheme, according to the company’s website.
BAE has described the scheme as “fantastic”, saying: “Through ICASE, we’re able to benefit from highly motivated PhD students undertaking cutting-edge research relevant to our own objectives”.
“In return, students get to work on top quality projects with real-world application, benefiting from BAE Systems’ expertise, mentoring and facilities.”
