British Army brags about new radar made by genocide-linked arms firm

The British Army has published an update on its new Ground Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR). A small detachment of artillery soldiers has been testing the system on the Canadian prairie alongside local troops. What the MOD media department did not mention was that the AI-capable radar is made by the genocide-linked Israeli firm Elbit Systems UK.

The article published on 25 April describes the training mission:

53 Air Assault Battery, 5th Regiment Royal Artillery is using the new Ground Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR) as part of a network of sophisticated sensors working together to win the fight on Exercise Rhino Bizz.

The system, the army said, was delivered:

to the Catterick-based unit in late 2025. It is used to track the location and movement of soldiers and vehicles on the ground, and aircraft and drones in the air. It can also be used for fall of shot correction, working with artillery and mortars to track exactly where rounds are landing, and correct their aim, destroying the target quicker.

The training exercise also tested integration of the AI-powered targeting gear:

Troops tested the recce-strike concept of fighting, bringing together surveillance, reconnaissance and strike platforms in an AI-enabled network able to identify and destroy targets faster and further.

One staff sergeant described the AI capabilities as a “hive mind”:

Once one sensor picks up something, we can direct all the other sensors onto that track and really build up a clear picture of what it is and what it’s doing – and then decide what we want to do about it. Using AI to merge and interpret all the data speeds that process from minutes to seconds, and that gives us a headstart on the enemy.

What can possibly go wrong?

Elbit UK, an Israeli firm

All pretty standard fare for a military exercise in the vast training areas the UK borrows from the Canadian government. But the connection to Israel and its arms industry went unmentioned in the piece.

Arms industry publications have reported with the full details for years. Defence Today wrote in November 2025:

Elbit Systems UK (ESUK) has delivered the first Ground Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR) systems to the British Army’s Royal Artillery following successful live fire trials earlier this year.

The initial delivery comprises 55 radar units along with associated support solutions and is part of a contract awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) in May 2023 for a total of 90 portable GBSR systems, with an option for an additional 40 units.

 Israel Defence reported on 17 March 2025:

Elbit Systems UK, a subsidiary of Israeli Defense giant Elbit Systems is in the process of delivering Ground-Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR) units to the British Army. These radars are deployed to detect threats at short and medium ranges on the front line.

And as far back as May 2023, Army Recognition reported:

Elbit Systems UK has been awarded a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide a series of Ground-Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR) systems, manufactured and developed in the UK and Europe, to the British Armed Forces to support front-line threat detection for a range of end-users.

The British government published details of the contract in 2023; you can access those here.

Israeli genocide firms

Campaign against the Arms Trade (CAAT) describes Elbit as:

Israel’s largest arms producer, and the 24th biggest arms producer globally.

Elbit’s UK wing has:

a workforce of over 680. Elbit has several further subsidiaries located across 16 sites in the UK. Elbit’s UK companies export globally, particularly to Israel. Elbit UK Ltd has obtained two UK military export licenses to the country since 2021.

Elbit products include drones, surveillance equipment and border security gear. Israel uses them in Gaza, The Occupied Territories and Lebanon. The British Army’s website reminds its soldiers they are:

subject to the law wherever they are serving.

This does not seem to extend to the purchase and use of equipment made by genocide-linked arms firms with headquarters in Israel.  Clearly, the UK should stop selling arms to Israel. That’s not controversial. But the UK also needs to stop buying occupation-tested military equipment from the settler-colonial state too.

Featured image via the Canary

By Joe Glenton

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