Kent County Council Invests £5.3 Million in BAE Systems Arms Manufacturer Supplying Weapons Used in Gaza
As of 31 March 2025, Kent County Council held £5,363,935 in shares in BAE Systems, the UK’s largest arms manufacturer. The investment is drawing renewed scrutiny amid growing public concern over the company’s role in supplying weapon systems used by the Israeli military in Gaza.
BAE Systems is a core supplier of military technologies to Israel, including components for combat aircraft, armoured vehicles, missile systems, and advanced surveillance platforms. These technologies have been widely deployed in Israeli operations across Gaza, where airstrikes have caused extensive civilian casualties and the destruction of essential infrastructure.
Significantly, BAE’s factory in Rochester, Kent, plays a direct role in the production of components for the F‑35 stealth fighter jet’s “active interceptor system”—an advanced suite of electronic warfare and targeting technologies. The F‑35, co-developed by the United States and key NATO allies, is a mainstay of the Israeli Air Force and has been used extensively in strikes across Gaza. The Rochester facility’s contributions to this weapons platform mean that Kent-based manufacturing is directly linked to international military operations with serious humanitarian consequences.
According to Oxfam GB, which is calling for an immediate ceasefire and a suspension of arms sales, the UK government has approved over £500 million in military exports to Israel since 2015. These exports include components for aircraft, drones, targeting systems, and munitions—much of it either produced by or associated with BAE Systems. Although UK ministers argue that these are “components” rather than full weapons systems, the integration of these parts into platforms used in conflict zones undermines efforts to separate UK exports from the violence unfolding on the ground.
Oxfam and other human rights organisations have documented the use of these systems in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza, raising serious legal and ethical concerns. UN reports have detailed mass displacement, destruction of homes, and strikes on schools and hospitals.
Kent County Council has so far made no public statement on the ethical implications of its investment in BAE Systems. The holding forms part of the council’s wider investment and pension portfolio, but campaigners say such financial ties are incompatible with the council’s social responsibility obligations.
Several UK councils have already taken steps to divest from fossil fuel companies and corporations involved in human rights abuses. Activists are now calling on Kent to follow suit and conduct a full ethical review of its investments—particularly those linked to the arms trade and the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
With one of the most advanced weapons systems in the world being part-produced on Kent soil—and simultaneously deployed in a region facing deep humanitarian crisis—questions are mounting over whether public money should be underwriting the machinery of war.
The Shepway Vox Team
Dissent is NOT a Crime
Israel is a partner in the development of advanced weaponry with France and the UK. They are important suppliers of security intelligence which helps to keep Britain safe from Islamic terrorist attacks.
Perhaps they should withdraw their co-operation. After the next couple of otherwise avoidable Islamic terrorist attacks on UK soil maybe people will be better able to identify where the real problem lies.
we should be more worried about the IDF forces living in London, an army living