Achi news desk-
Ministers, who have said they are not funding arms manufacture, have come under fire for spending on eight companies which together made billions in profits in their last full financial year.
The £1.636m spend on defense companies linked to the supply of Israel, Raytheon, Leonardo and BAE Systems includes £778,725 in grants in 2023/24 alone.
The three international companies have made profits worth over £13bn in their last full trading year.
The Scottish Peace Network has condemned the spending and called on the Scottish Government to claw back the money given to the highly profitable companies and to stop any further funding.
The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) said the “totally unacceptable” grants should be stopped immediately and that a “comprehensive review” of Scottish Enterprise’s public spending policies be carried out.
International human rights organization Amnesty International has called for the development of “transparent and independent ethical policies” to prevent human rights abuses linked to Scottish Enterprise’s business relationships.
RTX, the owner of Raytheon’s public funding beneficiary, is a long-term US defense contractor that has worked on supplying Israel’s Iron Dome since 2014. It made a gross profit of just over $12bn (£9.7m) in 2023.
The Italian arms giant Leonardo is involved in making components for the F-35 fighter jets, used by the Israeli forces. Its earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITA) in 2023 was €1.29bn (£1.03bn).
There are concerns that laser targeting systems fitted to F-35 fighter jets are made at Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory in Ferry Road.
Defense contractor BAE Systems, which is also involved in making parts for the F-35, made an underlying profit before interest and tax of £2.7bn in 2023 amid the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
According to Scottish Enterprise, which says it “does not support the manufacture of munitions”, the £250,000 given to Raytheon in 2023/24 was for research and development into an unknown product.
He expects Raytheon to “focus on new markets and customers. This will enable Raytheon to develop the technology for these new products, while also allowing the company to embrace advanced manufacturing techniques to ensure products are be done in the most effective and sustainable way.”
The £150,125 grant given in the same year to Leonardo was also for research and development into an unknown product.
Scottish Enterprise said it was going towards “overall project costs for strategic investment to diversify and develop civilian markets and products, which will create new jobs, including graduates and apprentices”.
BAE Systems’ surface ships wing received £369,600 during the year for training support support to assist with “up-skilling the workforce in line with a transformation in new ways of building naval ships on the Clyde”.
He also went on to develop a business case for “productivity improvement” at BAE’s operations on the Clyde.
BAE Systems said it is a partner on Lockheed Martin’s global F-35 program, which includes Israel but does not sell military equipment directly to the country.
A BAE Systems spokesman said: “As part of a wider £300m commitment to shipbuilding on the Clyde, BAE Systems is investing in a new Applied Shipbuilding Academy. We welcome the additional funding from Scottish Enterprise which will support the ambition to attract, retain and develop the workforce of the future and help ensure the long-term viability of shipbuilding in Glasgow and provide a valuable and significant continued contribution to the Scottish economy. ”
More than 34,000 have been killed in Gaza since October 7, with the majority of victims women and children, including at least six killed by an overnight airstrike on a house in Rafah.
The milestone comes as hope for a ceasefire fades, while global attention has shifted to the exchange of missile and drone strikes between Iran and Israel.
Nearly 77,000 people have also been wounded, according to health authorities under the Hamas-run Gaza government. The figures do not include tens of thousands of dead believed to be buried in the ruins of bombed homes, shops, shelters and other buildings.
The figures do not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters; The Israeli military says they have killed more than 13,000 militants.
The previous First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had repeatedly claimed that the Scottish Government is not funding the production of munitions.
Ministers have previously stated that human rights due diligence checks have been introduced and are part of the Scottish Enterprise application process.
RTX told investors in October that the increase in US funding for Israel will generate new contracts for missiles from the company’s Raytheon division.
RTX chief executive Greg Hayes said it was a “benefit” of an increase in the US Department of Defense budget that would finance the supply of weapons to Israel and the restocking of weapons in Ukraine.
“I think really across the entire Raytheon portfolio, you’re going to see a benefit from this restocking,” Mr. Hayes said on the call. “On top of what we think is going to be an increase in the Defense Department [Department of Defense] top line.”
Since 2014, RTX Corporation has been involved in working with Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to help produce Israel’s Iron Dome, which detects and shoots down incoming rockets. The US Department of Defense has been funding the Iron Dome since 2011, a few years after Israel first began using it in 2007.
In 2020, RTX Corporation and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems joined forces to create a joint venture called Rafael USA, a US company that produces the missile interceptors and launchers that make up the Iron Dome Weapons System Israel, and a new derivative of the weapons in the US. called SkyHunter.
“This will be the first general Iron Dome facility outside of Israel, and will help the US Department of Defense and allies around the world have the system to protect their service members and critical infrastructure,” said Sam Deneke, RTX’s vice- president of land warfare and air defense business operations, at the time.
Sean Clerkin from the Scottish Peace Network who has been tracking Scottish Enterprise’s spending said: “It is unacceptable that the Scottish Government has given money to arms companies who are contributing to the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza by supplying parts and components of weapons. of death sold to Israel.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government to demand that the money that is given be clawed back and also to stop giving any further funding from taxpayers’ money to arms manufacturers in the future.
“It is time for the Scottish Government to stop subsidizing the military-industrial complex and instead put all its resources towards supporting the welfare state which nurtures and cherishes human life.
Video: Palestine Action Scotland said they were ‘shutting down’ the Leonardo UK factory in Edinburgh, occupying the roof of the site in protest last year.
Emma Cockburn, Scottish co-ordinator for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) added: “It is completely unacceptable that the Scottish Government is going ahead with ‘business as usual’, and we see another year go by when companies weapons that benefit from death. and destruction fills their pockets from the country’s purse.
“Despite over 30,000 Palestinians murdered and three quarters of a billion pounds in profits for arms companies such as Raytheon and Leonardo later, Scottish Enterprise still refuse to budge their priorities even an inch. We have been calling for an overhaul so-called ‘human rights due diligence checks’.
“But this is another great example of how a comprehensive review of the entire public funding system through Scottish Enterprise and its partner bodies is desperately needed.
“The Scottish Government cannot pretend that the supposed ‘training and research and development’ grants are not sustaining the warming that these companies have at their core, and ultimately the same shareholders who benefit from the sale of aircraft war F-35 or the thousands of smart planes. bombs sold to Israel or Saudi Arabia.
“We need to see this funding stopped immediately, a complete review of how public money has been channeled in this way, and the implementation of fit-for-purpose due diligence checks.”
Scottish Enterprise support said the financial support is for projects on sites in Scotland and does not include support for any projects related to the development of arms or weapons.
They insisted the funds were primarily designed to help those Scottish sites diversify into civilian markets and “differentiate from other potential sites within a parent company operation”.
Neil Cowan, Scotland’s new program director at Amnesty International, added: “Israeli forces continue to commit war crimes and possible genocide in Gaza, with indiscriminate attacks killing and injuring large numbers of Palestinian civilians. These attacks have occurred in the context of Israel’s ongoing system of apartheid against Palestinians.
“Any sale of weapons or their components to Israel risks facilitating the ongoing atrocities that are unfolding, as well as reinforcing Israel’s system of oppression and hegemony. Scottish Enterprise’s due diligence process has been repeatedly criticized and Amnesty has called for the development of transparent and independent ethical policies to prevent human rights abuses linked to its business relationships. Alongside the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise must provide urgent assurances that no public funding from Scotland supports the development or manufacture of weapons used to commit human rights violations, including war crimes in Gaza.”
A spokesman for Scottish Enterprise said: “The defense companies we work with employ tens of thousands of people across Scotland. We aim to help make their operations in Scotland as economically sustainable as possible and support their continued diversification into civilian markets, with a view to maintaining and growing employment.
“Decisions to assist companies are based on the economic potential of proposed projects, and all of them are carried out in accordance with the economic and social effects contractually agreed with the company. Scottish Enterprise funding does not support the development or manufacture of munitions.”
Scottish Enterprise said it was a ‘gap’ funder, only ever providing a minority percentage contribution to the overall costs of the project.
Scottish Enterprise was asked why companies making billions in profit are able to access this public expenditure but did not respond directly.
A Scottish Government spokesman added: “Support for defense sector companies is primarily focused on helping companies to diversify their activities and technologies, ensuring that Scotland continues to benefit from significant economic gains and thousands of jobs in the sector.
“Our enterprise agencies have appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that any funding provided is used only for the specific purpose intended and that human rights due diligence checks are central to the application process.”
