Four locals were arrested during a blockade of Leicester’s Elbit drone factory, UAV Tactical Systems, said activists in a press release. The four were arrested for an array of offences, including criminal damage, obstruction of the highway and threatening words or behaviour. Others responded to arrests by blockading the police van with those arrested inside.  

UAV Tactical Systems is majority owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons firm. The factory’s flagship product is the Watchkeeper drone, modelled on Elbit’s Hermes 450 after it was “battle-tested” on the Palestinian people. The Watchkeeper drone has been used during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as over the English Channel, to stop migrants seeking refuge.  In addition, previous export licenses show drone technologies worth over 5 million pounds being sent from the factory to Israel. Two of the board members of UAV Tactical Systems are listed as Israeli nationals, one of whom is Vered Haimovich, the Vice President of Elbit’s whole UAV division. Elbit Systems provides 85% of Israel’s military drone fleet, which is routinely used to surveil and massacre the Palestinian people. One such drone, Elbit’s Hermes 450, was used in the calculated killing of seven aid workers, including three British nationals. 

The campaign to shut Elbit down in Leicester has involved direct action from Palestine Action and community mobilisation, causing regular disruption to the Israeli weapons maker. As reported by Companies House, UAV Tactical Systems has been making a loss since the collective campaign began in 2021.