19th November 2023
Company Name: L3Harris Release and Integration Solution Ltd (formerly EDO MBM Technology Ltd)
Location: Emblem House, Unit 2, Home Farm Business Park, Moulsecoomb, Brighton
L3Harris Release and Integration Solutions Ltd (hereon L3 Harris Brighton) is equipping US supplied F-16s and F-35s, currently being used by the Israeli apartheid state to commit genocide against the people of Gaza.
Official public records, Pentagon contracts and arms industry subcontracts, combined with FOIA disclosure of UK arms export licenses, demonstrate a clear supply chain from L3Harris Brighton to the F-35A’s being adapted and supplied for use by the Israeli military. L3Harris Brighton also owns the rights to bomb racks fitted to Israeli F-16’s and works with Elbit in Israel on certifying the integration of new Israeli weapons onto the F-16 warplane.
Profiting from Genocide
The parts developed and manufactured in Brighton enable Israeli pilots to drop their bombs on the Palestinian people of Gaza, who have no way to escape the genocide being committed against them. L3Harris Brighton has been awarded contracts worth millions of dollars to equip these F-16 and F-35 Israeli war planes. Therefore, L3Harris Brighton are complicit in and are profiting from the genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes being committed right now by Israeli military forces in Gaza.[i]
L3Harris Brighton is part of L3Harris Technologies, a US owned multinational corporation and the 11th largest arms company in the world.[ii] A large proportion of L3Harris Brighton’s annual turnover comes from the USA. [iii] This includes the supply of weapons release equipment and integration services under subcontracts with Lockheed Martin. “Integration” means the adaption of newly developed or existing bombs, guided munitions and missiles onto newly developed and existing military aircraft, helicopters, and drones.
L3Harris Brighton currently manufactures bomb release equipment and components for the F-16s and F-35s used by the Israeli Air Force under subcontracts with Lockheed Martin in the USA. [iv] L3Harris Brighton also holds a current Open General Export Licence (OGEL) granted by the UK government to supply the Lockheed Martin F-35 production line in the USA. [v]
Manufacture of F-35 components
F-35As are manufactured by Lockheed Martin and delivered by the US Air Force on behalf of the US government to international customers including the Israeli apartheid state, which is designated as a Security Cooperation Participant (SCP) in the F-35 programme. [vi] Of the two SCP participants, only Israel is currently being supplied with the F-35A. Singapore receives the F-35B.
F-35As sold to Israel are specially adapted for Israeli munitions and are also referred by Israel as the F-35I. On 28 October 2020 Lockheed Martin issued a sub-award from its Pentagon F-35A contract worth $4.45million to L3Harris Brighton to supply Weapons Umbilical Cables (WUC) for these F-35As (reference 6535816035). This subcontract is listed as ongoing until 2024.[vii]
On 28 May 2021, the Pentagon issued a modification to Lockheed Martin’s F-35A contract for “additional work” for “SCP Requirements” worth $1,236,000. This confirms what is seen in the OGEL documents: that L3Harris Brighton is currently supplying weapons release equipment to Lockheed Martin for the F-35A supplied to Israel by the Pentagon.
Many of the L3Harris Brighton subcontracts with Lockheed Martin also refer to orders of BRU-61 weapons release cables for F-35s. This is a Bomb Release Unit designed for carriage and release of the GBU-53B Small Diameter Bombs (SDB.) The SDB became operational in 2006 and is integrated onto the F-35A used by Israel in attacks on Gaza.
In October 2023, it was reported the US was rushing 1000 SDBs to Israel to use in the Gaza war. [viii]
Israeli F-16 bomb racks and the Elbit-Cyclone link
In 1998 EDO MBM Brighton bought the rights to the ERU-151 and VER-2 bomb racks from a US defence contractor. [ix] These rights have passed to L3Harris Brighton, which is also the ‘design authority’ that provides certification for the integration of any new munition with the Israeli F-16 VER-2 bomb rack. The VER-2 has been operational on Israeli F-16 fighters ever since. It has been manufactured in Israel since 2006 by Elbit-Cyclone Aviation Ltd.[x] As design authority L3Harris Brighton must sign off and certify any new weapon integrated for use with the Israeli F-16 bomb rack by Elbit Cyclone.[xi]
[i] https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent-genocide-against
[ii] SIPRI Top 100 arms companies SIPRI-Top-100-2002-2021_0.xlsx (live.com) (accessed 16/11/2023)
[iii] Companies House. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00402684/filing-history (accessed 16/11/2023)
[iv] USA Speding.gov. https://www.usaspending.gov/search/?hash=6d8f5290bd0032be69e67c42a7a3d80c (accessed 16/11/2023) Note: To find Lockheed Martin subcontracts with L3Harris Brighton use “Sub-Awards” switch.
[v] UK Department for Business and Trade. (December 2020) Open General Export Licence Exports in Support of Joint Strike Fighter (F-35 Lightning II) Open General Export Licence (exports in support of Joint Strike Fighter, F-35 Lightning II) (publishing.service.gov.uk) (accessed 16/11/2023)
[vi] Congressional Research Service. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program https://sgp.fas.org/crs/weapons/RL30563.pdf (accessed 16/11/2023)
[vii] USASpending.gov https://www.usaspending.gov/search/?hash=6d8f5290bd0032be69e67c42a7a3d80c (accessed 16/11/2023) Note: To find Lockheed Martin subcontracts with L3Harris Brighton use “Sub-Awards” switch.
[viii] Tuthout. Palestine Solidarity Activists Block Boeing’s Doors to Stop Delivery of Bombs Palestine Solidarity Activists Block Boeing’s Doors to Stop Delivery of Bombs | Truthout (accessed 16/11/2023)
[ix] EDO MBM Technology Ltd. VER-2 bomb rack Website 2003 (archive) https://web.archive.org/web/20031215082036/http://www.mbmtech.co.uk/br.html (accessed 16/2023)
[x] Elbit buy IMI (including VER-2) 2006 (archive) https://web.archive.org/web/20060207110520/http://www.exhibitions.sibat.mod.gov.il/ParisAirShow/UploadDocs/News/ELBIT7.PDF (accessed 16/11/20023)
[xi] Sworn court testimony of EDO MBM managing director in Hove Crown Court. June 2010. (Official Transcript available on request)
Brighton Against The Arms Trade 