Ramallah – Ma’an – “One night, we received 30 wounded people, after drones equipped with a sniper were sent to target those trying to reach Al-Ahli Hospital. Among them was a nine-year-old child. He was taken to the emergency department, drowning in his blood, after being hit by a bullet.” In his neck, and Germany did not ban them (Israeli military companies).’
This is the testimony of the Palestinian doctor, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, and the current president of the British University of Glasgow, Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, published on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on May 9, 2024, commenting on news stating that the Israeli company Xtend intends to expand into Its work after raising 40 million US dollars, ‘after the success of its drones in Gaza,’ in response to the decision to prevent him from entering German territory to participate in a conference supporting the Palestinian cause.
The company Xtend develops the Skyloard reconnaissance and attack drone, which the Israeli army annou
nced its use in the Gaza Strip.
The company has received research funding from the European Union to conduct marketing research and feasibility studies for the Skyloard mission. It is not the only Israeli company specialized in manufacturing weapons and military equipment that receives this type of funding.
What does the European Union have to do with funding research by Israeli arms companies?
During the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which erupted on October 7, 2023, the Israeli army used an arsenal of weapons; Among them are the F-16 and F-35 fighters.
These American-made F-16 and F-35 fighters depend on the Israeli company Israel Aerospace Industries, which manufactures their military infrastructure. With research funding from the European Union, it participates in carrying out military operations linked to human rights violations, such as bombing hospitals, schools, and residential neighborhoods in Gaza.
According to commercial databases, the Israeli company IAI exported 69 shipments to the American
company Lockheed Martin. These include ‘parts of aircraft, helicopters, or drones.’
Lockheed Martin says that it is proud of its prominent role in maintaining the security of the State of Israel, by supplying its air force with F-16 and F-35 aircraft.
Details of European research grants
In 2018, the European Union witnessed controversy over the Horizon 2020 research program; While the European Commission proposed that the program’s activities not be limited to civilian applications, the European Parliament and Council insisted that the program’s activities be limited to civilian uses only.
Israeli companies related to the arms industry and military activities participated in some of these research projects. Led by Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, and several emerging Israeli companies.
According to the European Commission, it is very difficult to establish dividing lines between civilian and military application of dual-use technology. In the advanced stages of research, dual-use technologi
es can be developed immediately, or when some non-essential or fundamental modifications are introduced, even if these technologies were originally intended for purely civilian or military applications.
The term “dual use” is used to describe software and technology, which can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
Based on research project reports, what has been published on the official websites of some Israeli companies, and other relevant sources, this investigation reaches the conclusion that some dual-use technologies, developed within the framework of Horizon 2020 projects, serve sectors within some Israeli companies, namely Sectors that are partly active in the manufacture of military products; They are used to carry out combat missions, in the absence of legal restrictions controlling how they can be used after the end of the project.
In addition, the European regulation for dual-use technological systems was not up to date at the time of the program’s launch. This led to Israeli compani
es obtaining grants to conduct dual-use research, without any restrictions being applied to their use, after the end of the project.
On its official website, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is proud to have received international research grants to develop the sector of manufacturing composites used in the manufacture of its civil and military aviation structures, which prompted us to research and investigate the role of European research in this regard.
In February 2017, IAI received a grant of pound 213,000 (US$232,000); To develop, manufacture and test non-structural landing gear parts made of composite materials using an advanced carbon fiber material system, in partnership with the German company Circomp.
In this project, IAI took the ‘resin transfer molding’ technology used in automated production, and combined it with a specially designed fiber placement technology, in the design and manufacturing process.
A European Union research project defined the ‘resin transfer molding’ technology as a clos
ed molding process for manufacturing high-performance composite materials, used in various fields. Among them is the aircraft industry.
According to several studies, this technology is used to manufacture medium-sized composite materials (usually less than three metres) for military aircraft.
IAI intends to use the results of the project to develop composite materials for aircraft landing gear. The project helps the two companies – Israeli and German – discover new technologies, which would contribute to introducing further developments to structural parts and reducing the cost of manufacturing.
The European Council’s regulation of dual-use materials, which require a license to export them, included in clauses 1A002 and 1C010 composite materials that contain fibers impregnated with resin or carbon fibres. Excluded from this procedure are vehicles involved in the repair of ‘civilian aircraft’ structures.
Roxandra Mihaela Botiz, a lecturer in aircraft modeling and simulation techniques at the Canadian Unive
rsity of Quebec, says that the civil aircraft manufacturing process can be applied to military aircraft, while only the characteristics of the landing gear differ, in terms of weight, dimensions and other characteristics, according to the type of each aircraft.
Therefore, the technology of composites integrated into airframes can be applied in the manufacture of both civil and military airframes.
This research project was not the only project – in which the Israeli company participated – based on using the ‘resin transfer molding’ process to manufacture high-performance composite materials; Within the framework of the Horizon program, IAI received about 290 thousand euros (315 thousand US dollars) between 2019 and 2022. To develop water-soluble materials, instead of the high-cost metal core, using the ‘resin transfer molding’ process.
The IAI website notes that the Composites Manufacturing Division of the LAHAV Aero-Structures Center uses ‘resin transfer molding’ and other technologies that were the subjec
t of research in the European program to reduce manufacturing costs.
The website states that the center is involved in international research and development programmes. In order to improve composite materials and the technical capabilities used.
LAHAV Aero-Structures specializes in the design and production of metal structures, composite materials and landing gear systems, the latter of which is the focus of application in the European research project.
The IAI website indicates that its composite materials manufacturing programs are used in the manufacture of aircraft fuselages, including: F-15, F-16, and F-35 aircraft.
The company’s IAI website indicates that the LAHAV Center is introducing ‘resin transfer molding’ technology in the preparation of composite materials used in Production of military airframes, such as: F-15, F-16, T-38, and military and civilian helicopters.
Pictures of aircraft documents
The F-16 and F-35 military aircraft are produced by the American company Lockheed Martin, and acco
rding to IAI, it provides the American company with military and commercial infrastructure for the F-16 and F-35 aircraft.
Lockheed Martin has supported the use of ‘resin transfer molding’ process technology in its military aircraft since the beginning of the millennium. As stated on the company’s website, it “successfully used an advanced resin transfer molding (RTM) process to manufacture a standardized component for an advanced fighter jet.”
In February 2024, during the Israeli war on Gaza, the Dutch Court of Appeal ordered the government to ban all exports of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel; ‘Due to fears that it would be used to violate international law during the war in Gaza.’
The European Commission did not comment on our findings in this regard, although we contacted it within the framework of the right of reply.
Relations with the Israeli government
IAI is fully owned by the Israeli government. The company specializes in the aviation and missile industries, internal security systems
, and drones, and provides various technologies for manufacturing aircraft parts and structures.
Weapons constitute the largest share of IAI’s sales; Its revenues in 2022 from selling military products reached 82 percent of the company’s total revenues.
The company allocates a share of its spending on research and development activities, and in this regard, Boaz Levy, President and CEO of IAI, says in the company’s financial report issued in 2022: ‘Developing advanced technological capabilities, to help maintain the Israeli army’s operational advantage and its ability to deal effectively with With changing challenges, it continues to be at the heart of our activities; for this purpose we are increasing the resources allocated to research and development.’
The Israeli army relies on two types of drones developed by IAI: They are Heron TB and Heron 1.
While IAI used to receive European research grants, in the Horizon program it reached ten million euros (about 10 million and 800 thousand US dollars).
Accor
ding to the European security database (OPen Security Data Europe), created by the European Network Against Arms Trade, IAI has received European grants estimated at approximately four million and 526 thousand euros (about four million and 570 thousand US dollars), within the framework of research projects classified as ‘security’. “.
At the top of the projects specialized in the security field is the Respondrone project, and the Israeli Ministry of Defense and IAI participated in this program. To develop an ‘Unmanned Aircraft Systems Platform’ for disaster response. This project is classified as dual-use.
To support the European Union’s external security policies, the European Council approved – subject to specific controls – the conduct of dual-use research; Therefore, Resolution No. 743 of 2013, regulating the first edition of the Horizon 2020 programme, stipulated that ‘while research and innovation activities will focus exclusively on civilian applications, coordination with the activities of the Europ
ean Defense Agency (EDA) will be pursued in order to enhance cooperation, in particular from Within the already existing European Framework Cooperation (EFC), recognizing that there are areas for dual-use technology.’
In interpreting ‘exclusive focus on civilian applications,’ the Horizon Program regulations state that ‘if the technologies/products/services in question are intended for use in non-military activities or are intended to serve non-military purposes, they will be treated as having an exclusive focus on civilian applications.’ Research directed towards military applications will be excluded from funding.’
The European Union defines dual-use items as goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.
The program set a condition when developing dual-use technology that this be mentioned in the program proposal, that the purpose of the research be directed to use in the civil field, in addition to adhering to the ethical principles of the program, and that
an export license be obtained for the technology resulting from this project, in accordance with European Union regulations. No. 428 of 2009, regarding export licenses for dual-use products.
Despite this, it was stated in a research paper issued by the European Commission in 2024, that the future areas of application of the results of the research project are always unknown, during the early stages of the project. But the ‘intermediate and advanced’ stages of research can lead to the development of dual-use technology; It can be used immediately, or after introducing non-essential or fundamental modifications, even if this technology – originally – was developed with the aim of applying it in the civil or military field only. vice versa; The results of military research can be used in civilian applications, with modifications also made if necessary.
This is supported by the European Defense Agency’s website presenting the links between the civil and military aspects of dual-use research, which notes that th
ere are many examples of defense research leading to spin-offs that can be used in the civilian sphere, but similarly technologies that Developed within the framework of funding schemes for civilian research programmes, it is intended to provide benefits to advanced defense systems.
Although the agreement does not contain anything that imposes special control on the use of dual-use technology; It is possible that the European Commission, in cooperation with national authorities, may resort to the examinations and audits contained in the project agreement as part of its technical review; To ensure that research activities are limited to application in the civil field, this oversight is limited to the duration of project implementation.
This is what makes monitoring the use of this technology – after the end of the project period – due to the European Union regulation for the export of dual-use technology, which must be done by the project coordinator.
A coordinator is appointed in each joint project conduct
ed under the Horizon programme, and in the two aforementioned projects, IAI was the coordinator.
This is confirmed by Dr. Mashenko Kane, Director of the Master’s Program in International Law at the Dutch University of Utrecht, that institutions in Europe participating in the Horizon 2020 program adhere to the European Union’s regulations on exporting dual-use technology.
In the case of Israeli institutions, Kane – who has conducted a lot of research on the regulations governing the export of dual-use technology – says that Israel, being outside the European Union, does not primarily adhere to the dual-use products regulation, noting that there are three cases in which Israeli institutions adhere to this regulation within the framework of the Horizon: First: If dual-use technology is imported from European institutions participating in the research. Second: If Israeli institutions develop this technology within the European Union and want to transfer it to Israel. Third: Commitment to the ethical framework r
egulating the program, which requires taking into account the export regulation of dual-use products, but it is It is unclear the extent of its impact on the non-European participating parties.
While the agreement for the participation of Israeli institutions in the program is devoid of any restrictions on the use or export of dual-use products, the agreement stipulates that Israel is committed to the regulations governing it of the European institutions participating in the program.
The Commission or the donor reserves the right to object to the transfer of dual-use technology to any third country, but this does not apply to countries participating in the programme; Including Israel.
Mark Ackerman, a researcher at the Dutch Campaign to Stop Arms Exports, comments on this that the legal framework regulating the participation of Israeli companies in European financing programs is limited to preventing the participation of institutions located in the occupied territories, while with regard to the Horizon pro
gram, Israel only adheres to the guidelines. For the project.
He adds that once the project is over, Israeli institutions can exploit the technology developed within the project for any purpose they deem appropriate, especially since Israeli companies conduct research within their territories and do not need to issue export licenses.
The rules mentioned by Kanitek and Ackerman are evident in the process of using the results of the ResponDrone project, in which IAI participated.
Between May 2019 and April 30, 2022, IAI participated alongside the Israeli Ministry of Defense in research for the ResponDrone project, which aims to develop a multi-drone platform for relief workers; To enhance their awareness when managing emergencies. The project ‘developed a large number of programs, which will be integrated into the advanced drones, in addition to developing control centers and stations,’ and this technology will be subject to sharing between the project parties and the public alike.
Although it was confirmed
that the project was aimed at the civilian use of drones, the ‘Plan for the Use of Project Results’ report stated that the European Dual-Use Technology Regulation applied to the project results.
IAI expressed interest in continuing to develop the unmanned aircraft system resulting from the project, within an exploitation agreement with the project partners, provided that the partners issue a license under the European Union regulation to transfer this technology.
As for the technology developed by the Israeli company alone, which is the development of a multi-tasking control platform connected to the Internet and ready for immediate use; The project allowed the Israeli company to exploit it.
Article 28 of the Partnership Agreement stipulates that each grant beneficiary must take the necessary measures to ensure the ‘exploitation’ of its results.
Company Relief Marches
The IAI website refers to its provision of unmanned aircraft systems for managing natural disasters, giving an example of this with the Gr
eek Air Force flying the company’s Heron aircraft. To carry out reconnaissance operations, as part of attempts to control forest fires in July 2023.
A report published by Human Rights Watch in December 2022 mentioned this drone, documenting its use by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in interception operations. People seeking asylum in the Mediterranean, instead of being rescued.
The deal under which Frontex obtained the ‘Heron’ drones, in 2020, raised questions from members of the European Union, because Human Rights Watch had previously documented in 2009 the Israeli army’s use of the same drones to target Palestinian civilians.
Controversial post
The war waged by Israel on Gaza since October 7, 2023 has returned the issue of Israeli arms companies’ involvement in the Horizon 2020 program to the European Parliament’s discussion table.
On October 25, 2023, Edoya Ruiz, a member of the European Parliament from the Left Party, submitted a question about the relationship of grants receiv
ed by Israeli military companies to support for the health, climate, food, and security of European citizens, and the extent to which the European program contributed to financing military research programs conducted in Israel. .
In addition to IAI, the question addressed to the European Parliament included identifying Elbit Systems, among the beneficiaries of European research grants. This same company was the subject of another question in 2015, about the Horizon Program’s funding of research activities it conducted, while supplying the Israeli army with technological systems used in building the separation wall and settlements, a wall that the European Union and the United Nations classify as ‘in violation of international law.’
Elbit is a private Israeli company, whose revenues from the sale of weapons constituted about 90 percent of its total revenues in 2022.
The company was known for its involvement in controversial military activities in the occupied territories; Which led to more than 70 investmen
t institutions withdrawing their investments from it for various reasons. These include concerns about human rights violations, according to a database that tracks financial exclusion.
Due to the recent war on Gaza, the Japanese company Itochu canceled its cooperation with Elbit, after the International Court ordered that ‘Israel take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.’ This was followed by the closure of the company’s arms factory in Britain, as a result of pressure opposing the factory’s operation.
Within the framework of Horizon 2020, Elbit obtained three research grants worth approximately 1,660,000 euros (1,717,000 US dollars), of which 559,000 euros (609,000 dollars) were allocated to the COPAC project related to quantum technology, which took about four years to work on. (August 2017 and April 2021).
Although quantum technology is included in the dual-use product list in Britain, this technology has not yet been included in the European Union regulation. Therefore, the project is not clas
sified as ‘dual use.’
This comes despite the reference to the danger of quantum technologies in a report issued by the European Commission, in October 2023, as ‘quantum technologies are capable of bringing about transformations in several fields, civil and military, by enabling new technologies and systems that benefit from the properties of quantum mechanics.’ .
Dr. Kane, a lecturer in international law, says that the European regulation does not include all dual-use products; Therefore, ‘dual-use technology’ developed within the framework of research programs and not included in the regulation may not be subject to export restrictions.
The COPAC project aims to develop a new way to perform calculations, instead of traditional computers, using lasers and quantum dots (nanoparticles made of semiconductors). To move information very quickly and process huge amounts of data at one time. The project has developed a prototype of a new device that works with this technology.
According to project reports, Elbit
developed this model of the device, and therefore has the right to exploit this model, in accordance with Article 28 of the grant agreement.
Within the plan to ‘publish the results of the project’ published on the European Union’s website, Elbit participated in scientific communities within the framework of the program, being a member of the advisory team specializing in industrial aspects of the Israeli National Quantum Program, which falls under the umbrella of the Israeli Innovation Authority.
Elbit was not the only team member from the Israeli side. The Hebrew University, whose Chairman of the Board of Trustees owns the majority share of Elbit, also participated. The Hebrew University also participates in the activities of the Innovation Authority related to quantum computing. KILOLAMBDA – which in Israel is classified as a military company – also participated in the program activities before it was acquired by Elbit in 2018.
When researching the reports of the Israel Innovation Authority, we found tha
t the authority helped Israeli companies obtain grants from the European Union worth 89 million euros (97 million US dollars).
The Israeli Innovation Authority helps these companies in exchange for fees from them, according to the authority’s official website. Elbit’s annual reports state that it pays fees to the Israel Innovation Authority in exchange for obtaining research grants.
By searching for the aforementioned Israeli quantum project, we found that the Authority is part of a coalition implementing the ‘national quantum’ technologies plan.
Returning to the national plan formulated in 2018, we found that the Israeli Ministry of Defense was a party to its formulation. The Ministry of Defence, Finance and Science and the Israel Innovation Authority have drafted a national plan for quantum technologies.
Dr. Daniel Gold, Head of the Research and Innovation Department at the Ministry of Defense, said, ‘Israel, which has become a power in the cyber field, views the field of quantum technologies as a strat
egic goal to become a major player in the global market.’
In 2022, the Innovation Authority and the Ministry of Defense announced that, as part of the implementation of the National Program for Quantum Sciences and Technologies, a quantum computing center will be established.
This came after the issuance of a report by the National Cybersecurity Authority, outlining the danger of using quantum computing to leak data and cyber attacks, recommending – as part of measures to prepare for these risks – that research be conducted in this regard.
Under this programme, Elbit is leading the design of quantum applications for the government sector, and appointing dedicated teams to advance their development.
The European Commission did not comment on our findings in this regard, although we contacted it within the framework of the right of reply.
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This prompted us to search the company’s profile archive on the Elbit incubator website, to find that in 2018, coinciding with the start of the EU grant, the company’s technology was serving defense markets, and was not limited to civilian aspects.
From Europe to America, passing through Gaza
Israeli startup Xtend received Horizon 2020 funding worth 50,000 euros (about 54,000 US dollar
s) in early 2020. With the aim of ‘conducting a comprehensive study to evaluate the technical, commercial and financial feasibility of the new SKYLORD XTENDER drone system.’
According to what was revealed by joint research conducted by StateWatch and Informationstelle Militarisierung (quoting Western newspapers), the company that was established in 2018 sells the SKYLORD drone system to the US army, and that the Israeli army uses this type of drone system in Gaza. As evidence provided by the research that EU research funding for Xtend is relevant for military purposes.
This is what we confirmed by examining Xtend’s contracts with the US government. The company obtained – directly and indirectly – three contracts with a total value of approximately 278 thousand US dollars.
By examining the quality of these contracts, we found that a contract numbered ‘1149969’ was concluded by the US Defense Logistics Agency to purchase the Skylord drone system, and that the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluded a direc
t order contract numbered ’15F06721P0003531′ with the company to purchase two systems of the same type.
The LinkedIn page, affiliated with the Directorate of Research and Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure at the Ministry of Defense, published congratulations to Xtend for being selected by Globes magazine as one of ten promising startup companies in Israel, noting that the company’s drones are used in the recent combat operations in Gaza.
The Israeli forces acknowledge their use of the Skylord drone system in their combat operations, according to a propaganda video posted on the official page of the Israeli Directorate on Facebook.
The same source from the European Commission adds that Xtend has obtained funding allocated for startup companies, which is limited to conducting feasibility and marketing studies for the Skylord system, which originally has civilian characteristics, adding that the results of the research may lead to the development of dual-use technology, and a shift from
use may have occurred. Civilian to military after the end of the project period.
This prompted us to search the Xtend website archive, to find that the company – at the time of the grant – was offering the Skylord drone system as a military system; In the background of the system definition, an image of a soldier using the drone was placed.
This investigation was completed with the support of ARIJ. Prepared by Ahmed Ashour and contributed by Abdullah Taha
Source: Maan News Agency