UK parts in missile that killed Iranian schoolgirls

Byline Times has linked the components used in the Tomahawk missiles which hit a girls’ school in Mibab, to two defence companies with a strong presence in the UK.

The US missiles murdered around 165 school girls on February 28 in a double-tap attack. The second missile killed sheltering survivors, two first responders, and the parent of a murdered child.

Tomahawk cruise missile

Byline Times has revealed that analysis by Action on Armed Violence, combined with US Government procurement data, strongly suggests that the British defence industry — namely BAE Systems and Raytheon — produced parts for the Tomahawk missiles used in these attacks.

At first, there was speculation about the origins of the missile used in the attack and who was responsible. However:

independent analysis of video, satellite imagery and debris has consistently identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile, a system used by the United States and its allies in this conflict, and no credible source has contested the origin of the recovered fragments.

One of the recovered components is marked “SDL ANTENNA”. This is:

part of the satellite data link system that allows the missile to receive mid-flight guidance updates.

The markings on the part identify its manufacturer as Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. This is a US-based contractor. However, BAE Systems, a UK corporation, owns Ball Aerospace, having acquired it in February 2024.

The weapon fragment contains the code 13993, issued by the US Commercial and Government Entity. This code makes it clear that the company owned by British BAE Systems manufactured the missile’s satellite communications antenna.

Of course, detailed information on current subsystems is partly classified. However, there is no evidence of any recent changes to the UK’s supply of core components, such as those used in these strikes.

Byline Times added:

Since acquiring Ball Aerospace in 2024, BAE Systems has retained its capabilities in Radio frequency (RF) and phased-array (multiple antennas) technologies, making it likely that similar components remain in production under UK ownership.

It is often hard to attribute weapons components to a single strike, as Byline Times has done in this case. However, UK-linked components are a consistent feature of the Tomahawk system.

Additionally, the recovered fragment contains a contract number: N00019-14-C-0075.

According to Byline Times, US Naval Air Systems Command records show that Raytheon won this contract in 2014 to produce Tomahawk Block IV missiles, with “subsequent modifications expanding the order”.

This means that we can directly link the recovered component to that production programme.

The UK’s wider role

Byline Times has also seen wider procurement data that points to “continuity” in the UK’s role in the Tomahawk programme.

Around 4% of the production of the US Tactical Tomahawk programme is based in the UK — at Raytheon UK’s Glenrothes facility in Scotland. It manufactures “electronic and guidance components” for missiles.

According to Byline Times:

Raytheon UK received more than $15 million for its contribution to this production lot according to public financial records (contract N00019-14-C-0075). UK parliamentary records have also previously confirmed that components produced at the Glenrothes site are exported to the United States for integration into Tomahawk missiles, indicating a sustained role in the programme.

An unclassified US Selective Acquisition Report (SAR) also shows that the UK plays an official role in the Tactical Tomahawk programme.

It states:

The FY 2014 procurement includes 196 surface and subsurface launched AURs, 20 torpedo tube launched AURs as part of the United Kingdom Foreign Military Sales case, and 15 surface AURs (FY 2013 funded through Buy-to-Budget).

The UK government doesn’t usually disclose which British-made components are included in weapons used by allied forces, or how these systems are deployed. However, the US does provide detailed procurement data. This means we can trace which company produced specific components.

UK complicity in war crimes

Even before this latest revelation, the UK was already complicit in Israel and the US’s war crimes.

Previously, Keir Starmer claimed the UK was “playing no role” in the illegal attacks on Iran. Then he stated the UK was only taking part in “regional defensive operations”. Now, Starmer is allowing the US to load massive bombs into planes to bomb Iran.

And to make matters worse, it now turns out that the US and Israel are using weapons with British-made parts to blow up little school girls.

You’d have thought a former prosecutor might have had a hard red line when it comes to war crimes. But apparently not. Starmer has even more blood on his hands.

Feature image via HG