- Arms sales to Saudi Arabia in the first two years of the bombing of Yemen reach £4.6 billion.
- There have been major increases in licences for fighter jets and bombs, which have now reached £1.9 billion since the bombing began.
- Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has now submitted its full skeleton arguments for an appeal against the High Court’s July decision that continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia are legal. CAAT today launches a crowdfunder for ongoing legal costs.
Arms sales to Saudi in the first two years of the bombing of Yemen (April 2015 – April 2017) have now reached £4.6 billion. This amounts to a 170% increase in the value of sales since the bombing began. During the two year period leading up to the bombing (March 2013-March 2015) the UK icensed £1.7 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia.
The increase in sales includes a major rise in licences for missiles and bombs. In the two years leading up to the war, the UK licensed £33 million worth of ML4 arms (ML4 includes bombs, missiles and countermeasures). In the period since it began the government has licensed £1.9 billion.
It also includes a heavy increase in sales of military aircraft. The UK has licensed £2.6 billion worth of ML10 licences since the bombing began (aircraft, helicopters, drones) the majority of which are believed to be Eurofighter Typhoon licences. In the two years preceding the war, the UK licensed £1.6 billion worth of ML10 sales. This amounts to a 70% increase in ML10 licences.
Tom Barns of Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) said: “To see this increase in bombs and military aircraft sales at a time when Saudi Arabia is unleashing such utter devastation in Yemen is truly staggering. The United Nations has accused Saudi-led forces of killing hundreds of children and destroying schools and hospitals, yet the UK government seems to see the war as a business opportunity. Not only are these sales fuelling the ongoing conflict, they are also sending a message of political support to the brutal Saudi regime”.
Ongoing legal case
In February 2017, law firm Leigh Day, acting on behalf of CAAT in the High Court, argued that a range of international organisations, including the European Parliament and many humanitarian NGOs, have condemned the ongoing Saudi air strikes against Yemen as unlawful. In January 2016, a United Nations Panel of Experts accused Saudi Arabian forces of ‘widespread and systematic’ targeting of civilians. Despite these serious allegations, the High Court ruled in July 2017 that the UK Government can continue exporting arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen.
In October 2017, CAAT’s skeleton argument for appeal against the High Court decision, and the government’s response to the skeleton, were submitted to the Court of Appeal, and judges are currently considering these documents. CAAT has already been ordered to pay £40,000 in court fees, and has applied for the costs of the appeal to be capped at a further £30,000, but as yet has no guarantee that the associated costs will not be even higher than this. Today, CAAT launches a Crowdfunding campaign towards covering these costs.
Tom Barns of Campaign Against Arms Trade continued: “The new stats on bombs sales – alongside the news just weeks ago that the UN has blacklisted the Saudi regime for killing and maiming children in Yemen – show that our legal challenge to these arms sales is more important than ever.
There is no way we can stand by while the UK government prioritises arms companies’ profits over human lives in Yemen. But the potential financial costs to us of taking the case are huge. Over three quarters of the UK population agree that the UK should not sell arms to Saudi Arabia. We hope that those who can will help us to push for an end to the sales, by donating or sharing our crowdfunding campaign”.
CAAT’s Crowdfunder can be accessed at crowdjustice.com/stop-arming-saudi
All public legal documents relating to the case can be accessed at www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/saudi-arabia/legal-2016
Additional info on UK bombs and missiles used by Saudi Arabia in Yemen
In a parliamentary answer given in October 2016, the then Defence Secretary Michael Fallon confirmed the following UK missiles had been used by Saudi forces in Yemen:
Paveway IV – In 2014 Raytheon announced its first international contract for Paveway IV bombs, the deal was estimated to be worth around £150 million. Right from the start the buyer was believed to be Saudi Arabia. This was confirmed shortly after in the defence press. The contract was reported to be approximately £150 million for 2,400 units, in the order of £62k each.
Saudi Arabia is the only known export customer for Paveway IV although there has been speculation of Oman considering buying them too.
Human Rights Watch linked UK-licensed Paveway IV bombs to attacks on civilian targets in its recent Bombing Businesses report. In October the defence minister, Michael Fallon, said that Paveway IV bombs had been used by Saudi forces. (The parliamentary question is here). This was followed by another question about their use by Angus Robertson MP at PMQs.
Brimstone – The UK and Saudi Arabia are the only two countries that use the MBDA produced Brimstone. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the UK exported 1000 Brimstone missiles to Saudi Arabia, which were delivered between 2011-2014. The missiles are predicted to cost at least £100,000 each. Tornado fighter jets in Saudi have just been upgraded to allow the use of Brimstone missiles. They can also be fired from Eurofighter jets, so we can assume that they are still being used and being exported.
Storm Shadow – These are produced by MBDA in Stevenage. In December 2016, Sky News examined an attack site where part of a Storm Shadow missile with UK markings was found. The RAF has delivered courses relating to the Storm Shadow. SIPRI estimates that the UK licensed 350 Storm Shadow missiles in 2009, with deliveries happening 2011-13. It estimates a further 100 were licensed in 2013. Unfortunately it is too early to get retrospective stats for the last couple of years, but we can reasonably assume they are in service.
PGM 500 Hakim – These cruise missiles have been linked to an attack of a ceramics factory by Amnesty International. They were developed by Marconi but are now marketed by MBDA following a takeover.
ALARM (anti-radiation missiles) – ALARM stands for Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile. These are also produced by MBDA. These were taken out of service by the RAF in 2013, so it is unusual that Saudi still uses them. A profile of the missile is available here.
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For further information please contact Andrew at media(at)caat·org·uk or call 020 7281 0297.
