SOUTHAMPTON ACTIVISTS JOIN COORDINATED DAY OF WEAPONS FACTORY BLOCKADES TO MARK NAKBA WEEK

Posted: 15th May 2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SOUTHAMPTON ACTIVISTS JOIN COORDINATED DAY OF WEAPONS FACTORY BLOCKADES TO MARK NAKBA WEEK

Thursday 14th May 2026

Southampton, UK – This morning from 7:25am, a small yet impactful group of determined local women and non-binary campaigners disrupted operations at the Leonardo UK Southampton factory in Millbrook. Leonardo UK is a key player in the UK’s role in the F-35 fighter jet supply chain, the notorious “genocide jet” used to bomb Gaza, Iran and Lebanon. With Leonardo’s global revenue reaching just under BAE Systems in Samlesbury. In the seven months since the Gaza ceasefire, a ceasefire in name only, the Israeli regime has continued to strike and kill Palestinians every single day, while the British government continues to approve export licences to arm, train and equip the Israeli Occupation Forces carrying out these war crimes.

Campaign Against Arms Trade recently revealed that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) approved two new licences for UK export to Israel, for trainer aircrafts (to be used for combat training) and targeting equipment. The export licence for the trainer aircrafts is likely to be used by the UK subsidiary of US company Moog.

Moog’s Wolverhampton site was recently embroiled in a criminal scandal after it was exposed as trying to ship weapons to Israel through Belgium without the correct licence. The trainer aircraft licence will likely be used for Moog’s production of components for the M-346, which is used to train Israeli combat pilots before they fly F-35s and F-16s to bomb the people of Palestine, Lebanon and Iran. The M-346 is produced by Leonardo in Italy.  

The F-35 “genocide jet” has played a key role in Israel’s ongoing attempts to eradicate the Palestinian population in Gaza. The F-35 has also been used by the United States and Israel to attack Iran and Lebanon, in a war of American-zionist aggression that the UK continues to facilitate through the US use of UK bases. This UK-US-Israeli alignment is further made clear as the British government prepares to move its warship, HMS Dragon, to the Strait of Hormuz. This is a move which will only make the perilous US-Israeli-Iran ceasefire more fraught, and moreover exercises western hegemonic power in alignment with the deadly aims of US empire.

Today’s blockade also follows Leonardo’s AGM in Rome, which activists confronted last week. Leonardo UK is part of Leonardo S.p.A., one of the world’s largest arms companies headquartered in Italy. Leonardo’s profits have steadily risen throughout the past several years of genocide. Leonardo’s since the 2023 fiscal year.

A participant in the blockade states:

“We took action today in solidarity with Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian people, and all others suffering under the boot of US empire as its cracks continue to widen. Capitalism in crisis gives rise to fascism, which is why it is no coincidence that we are seeing a rise of far right movements, and in some cases the open espousing of nazism, in capitalist countries around the world, including Britain. The Shut Down Leonardo Southampton campaign has itself faced targeted far right harassment for many months now.”

Another activist explained:

“We stand in solidarity with the Filton 24, the first six who have faced a gravely unjust retrial, with four found guilty of criminal damage. The commitment to Palestinian Liberation that the Filton 24, and all prisoners around the world incarcerated for resisting genocide have, from the Israeli occupation’s jails to the Czech Republic, where an Elbit location was recently set on fire, requires deep sacrifice and strength.”

-ends-

Background Information

The Leonardo UK Edinburgh site manufactures components of F-35 fighter jets, used by Israel in its genocidal onslaught against Gaza. The Leonardo UK Southampton site, alongside its complicity as part of Leonardo UK, manufactures thermal imaging and optronics which may be used in the targeting system the Israeli regime uses – particularly for tank and soldier night vision capabilities. There is close collaboration between the Southampton and Edinburgh sites, as demonstrated through job postings which show work across the two locations.