Reported in partnership with Irish new site The Ditch and US outlet Drop Site News
F-35 fighter jet components were secretly transported to the US from a British airbase in Norfolk, it can be revealed.
Over 500 arms shipments have been sent from RAF Marham to military sites across America since the Gaza bombing began.
The information is contained within cargo documents reviewed by Declassified, The Ditch, and Drop Site News.
Some of the components may have been onward exported to Israel, which has been aided by surges in the flow of F-35 parts from the US since Hamas’ attack in October 2023.
The delivery locations for many of the shipments correspond with military facilities in the US which help to supply Israel’s fleet of F-35s.
Over 100 shipments have taken place since September when Keir Starmer suspended exports of F-35 parts to Israel unless they went via another country first.
The revelation raises the prospect that UK-made weaponry is being used to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
It also comes as the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
Independent MP Zarah Sultana told Declassified: “It is sheer hypocrisy for the government to call for a ceasefire, condemn the humanitarian crisis and decry the lack of aid, while continuing to enable the Israeli military to commit war crimes”.
She added: “The UK must impose an immediate embargo on all arms sales – direct and indirect – to Israel and ensure it is no longer complicit in oppression, war crimes or crimes against humanity anywhere in the world”.
Air Force Plant 4
All of the shipments were dispatched from RAF Marham, a British airbase in Norfolk which describes itself as “the home of the F-35 Lightning, a fifth generation, multi-role, stealth fighter”.
The items were mainly transferred on land to Heathrow Airport, at which point they were loaded onto cargo planes bound for the US.
The registered sender for each of the shipments was the Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems office near Portsmouth.
US arms giant Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor in the international consortium that produces the F-35 jets, which are flown by NATO and other allies.
Over 15 percent of the components for the F-35 are made in the UK, including the rear fuselage, electronics, and ejection seats.
It has been described as the “most lethal” fighter jet in the world, with over 100 UK-based companies contributing to the supply chain.
The vast majority of the UK-made components sent via RAF Marham were transported to Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Air Force Plant 4 is a US government-owned military facility which is operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. It serves as the epicentre of F-35 production in the US.
Other shipments were destined for air force and naval bases across the US, including Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.
A small number of the delivery addresses correspond to US arms corporations involved in the F-35 programme, such as the Lockheed Martin plant in New York State, Collins Aerospace in Oregon, and Northrop Grumman in California.
‘Holding the future in my hands’
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) acquired its first two F-35 fighter jets in 2016. Since then, Israel has received an additional 37 F-35s, and aims to increase the size of its fleet to 75 over the coming years.
Lockheed Martin’s Air Force Plant 4, which has received hundreds of shipments of F-35 components from Britain, has been integral to Israel’s procurement of the fighter jets.
In June 2016, Israel’s defence minister Avigdor Liberman travelled to the Texas site to see the F-35s unveiled.
“The F-35’s technology represents the crown jewel of air power superiority”, Liberman told a crowd which included Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price.
The rollout ceremony was broadcast live on Israeli television, with Lieberman adding that the jet would “dramatically enhance” Israel’s ability to defend itself against both “conventional and unconventional” threats.
IAF chief of staff Brigadier General Tal Kelman was also at the ceremony. He said: “As a pilot who has flown more than 30 years in a great variety of aircraft, I had the privilege of flying the F-35 simulator in Fort Worth and it was like holding the future in my hands”.
Lockheed Martin chairman Marillyn Hewson added: “We’re honored to partner with Israel and help strengthen the deep and lasting partnership between our two nations”.
Another important delivery address for F-35 components from Britain corresponds with the F-35 Joint Programme Office at the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) in Tracy, California.
The DLA distribution centres in the US support “global wholesale demands for the F-35 jet and propulsion systems by storing parts in support of the F-35 Global Spares Pool”.
One of the key recipients of components from DLA centres is the Israeli Air Force. In its annual report for 2023, the DLA noted how “Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023, drove Israel to full mobilization”.
To this end, “DLA sold $93.7 million in mostly aviation parts to this longstanding ally during the two months following the attack”.
Other recipients of UK-supplied components include the Collins Aerospace site in Oregon, which reportedly “produces weapons components that go to the Israeli military”.
Direct exports to Israel
The cargo documents reviewed by Declassified and The Ditch indicate that around 90 percent of all F-35 shipments from Britain are destined for the US.
However, Britain has also exported fighter jet components directly to Israel amid the Gaza genocide until Labour introduced partial restrictions.
14 shipments of F-35 components were sent from RAF Marham to Israel’s Nevatim airbase, which hosts its F-35 squadrons, between October 2023 and August 2024.
“A profound stain on our national conscience”
Israel’s fleet of F-35s have been linked to war crimes in Gaza. In July, one of the jets was used to bomb a designated safe zone in Gaza, killing 90 people.
Zarah Sultana MP commented: “These revelations expose the UK’s active participation in genocide. The use of British airbases and supply chains to support a genocidal campaign is a profound stain on our national conscience.
“Supplying weapons to a government whose leaders are wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity is indefensible, and those who aid such heinous acts cannot escape accountability under international law”.
A Lockheed Martin representative told Declassified that the company “is committed to business integrity and follows all United Kingdom government guidelines on the export of defence and dual use equipment from the UK to any country”.
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Washington’s hidden ownership
Britain’s Labour government suspended direct exports of F-35 parts to Tel Aviv in September, acknowledging that “Israel is overall not committed to compliance with IHL [International Humanitarian Law] in Gaza, including in the conduct of hostilities”.
However it created a loophole that allows spare parts to still reach Israel if they go via another country such as the US.
Foreign secretary David Lammy declared that “suspending all licences for the F-35 programme would undermine the global F-35 supply chain that is vital for the security of the UK, our allies and NATO”.
Yet the reality of the situation appears to be far murkier and it is unclear whether the UK could completely stop exporting F-35 components even if it wanted to.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) holds legal ownership over all spare parts in the F-35 supply chain, including those originating in Britain.
According to a report published by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) in May 2023, “the F-35 program’s executive steering board issued a memorandum [in 2012] declaring the F-35 assets be titled to the U.S. government when they are not installed on an aircraft”.
The report added: “The F-35 program has a unique supply chain. Rather than owning the spare parts for their aircraft, all program participants have access to the shared global spare pools, which DoD owns”.
A spokesperson for Britain’s Ministry of Defence confirmed the GAO report’s findings to Declassified, noting: “The F-35 Program operates a global spares pool where parts/components are owned by the US DoD and are available for use by all F-35 operators”.
They added: “When items are removed from an F-35 aircraft title reverts to the US DoD and the items returned to the global spares pool”.
The Ministry of Defence also informed parliament last week that: “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”.
It was therefore “unable to provide an estimate” of the number of F-35 components shipped from Britain to the US and then onward exported to Israel.
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‘Serious questions about sovereignty’
The US Department of Defense’s ownership over the global pool of F-35 spares indicates that the UK government has limited or no control over the distribution of UK-supplied components.
Sam Perlo-Freeman of Campaign Against Arms Trade told Declassified: “These revelations about US ownership of all F-35 components not installed on an aircraft raise serious questions about how much sovereignty over their export controls the UK and other F-35 partner nations have surrendered through their participation in the programme”.
He continued: “Nonetheless, regardless of contractual details, the UK’s obligations under international law, including the obligation to do everything possible to prevent genocide, are clear: all supplies of F-35 components from the UK to Israel, direct or indirect, must be stopped now.
“These spare parts are essential to keeping Israel’s F-35s flying, and therefore stopping them will reduce the number of bombings and killings of civilians Israel can commit. It is as simple as that”.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson commented: “At the request of the US led F-35 programme, F-35 components owned by the US Government are regularly moved from RAF Marham to the US”.
They added: “In keeping with the government’s announcement on arms exports in September, there have been no exports of F-35 parts direct to Israel via RAF Marham since that licensing suspension”.
