Israeli fighter pilots are receiving training using British military equipment, a report by The Ditch and Declassified revealed on Friday.

According to the investigation, cargo records show the Wolverhampton-based engineering company Moog has dispatched several shipments to the Israeli Hatzerim airbase since December. The shipments were sent to a location inside the airbase identified as Lavi, a name that seems to derive from the Hebrew word for young lion and is also associated with a particular aircraft model.

Ten shipments make way

Shipping documents indicate that Moog has dispatched no fewer than ten shipments to Hatzerim airbase since December 2024, with three of these deliveries taking place in the most recent month.

The shipments were delivered to the Lavi facility at Hatzerim airbase, a site operated by Elbit Systems, "Israel's" largest defense contractor, which manages the supply, maintenance, and overhaul of spare parts for the M-346 training aircraft.

The M-346 Lavi serves as an advanced training aircraft, preparing Israeli pilots to operate sophisticated fighter jets such as the F-16 and F-35.

The M-346 Lavi functions as a cutting-edge training platform that equips Israeli pilots with the skills needed to handle advanced combat aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35, while Moog, the company responsible for designing the aircraft's flight control system, also provides ongoing maintenance services to ensure operational readiness.

Ineffective restrictions

Shipping documents confirm Britain's ongoing provision of support to "Israel's" fighter jet program despite arms export restrictions implemented by the Labour government last September, with these restrictions specifically excluding components classified for "trainer aircraft".

This allows the UK government to maintain a technical separation between direct fighter jet exports and supplies that enable pilot training for these advanced combat systems.

“This is a disgusting level of complicity," Emily Apple, Campaign Against Arms Trade spokesperson, told Declassified.

“This is the UK government directly enabling Israel to continue committing genocide. It is facilitating training the pilots to fly the combat aircraft that are dropping 2000lb bombs on children," she added.

“Last week, the government blocked my Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill in Parliament. We know why: the government does not want the public to know the full scale of its complicity in one of the greatest crimes of our time," Jeremy Corbyn responded to the revelation, according to Declassified.