A new report, Entangled, by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), maps the deeply intertwined US and UK arms industries, exposing the dangerous dependencies, warmongering and complicity inherent in this relationship.
The US is likely the second biggest recipient of UK arms exports, although a lack of transparency in the way export figures are published makes it difficult to establish an exact figure. Between 2016 and 2025, single licences worth £7.7 billion were issued for arms exports to the US. However, a substantial proportion of the arms trade with the US takes place through open licences that are unlimited in value and with no reporting requirements. Ministry of Defence statistics show that in the same period the total value of arms export contracts to North America was £15.2b, the vast majority of which are likely to have been with the US. This suggests that the true value of UK arms exports to the US could be twice as high as the single licence figures alone indicate.
During the same time period the UK imported over £10bn worth of military equipment, and during the last five years, 85.3% of conventional weapons imports came from the US. The report also maps the symbiotic relationship between US and UK arms companies, showing that the US is vital for arms company profits and through providing a secondary base of operations.
One of the clearest examples highlighted in the report is the US F-35 combat aircraft programme. The UK is the only tier-one international partner in the programme, producing approximately 15% of every aircraft. F-35s have played a crucial role in Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. Yet despite the UK government acknowledging a clear risk that components supplied to Israel, via the global stockpile, could be used to commit serious violations of International Humanitarian Law, it introduced a specific exemption for the F-35 programme.
While CAAT argues that the UK’s so-called ‘special relationship’ with the US has always been deeply problematic, Donald Trump’s presidency and the increasingly aggressive and unpredictable actions of his administration – including his war with Iran, the actions of ICE, and the US military action in Venezuela – have starkly exposed the dangers of this dependence, and the urgent need for change.
The report is pragmatic in its approach, accepting that while CAAT’s primary goal is ending the arms trade, decoupling this relationship isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. It therefore provides recommendations that aim to end the UK’s reliance on the US arms industry and ensure that the UK does not breach its international law obligations. This includes calling on the UK government to end the F-35 exemption, rigorously applying its arms export licensing criteria to the US, and refusing licences for weapons that could be used in unlawful military operations or by ICE.
Report author and CAAT’s Research Coordinator, Dr Sam Perlo-Freeman, said:
“Trump’s war-mongering presidency is committing war crimes and human rights abuses with impunity. However, the UK government is largely silent, scared of the consequences of damaging this deeply entangled web between the US and UK arms industries.
“Supporting this regime does not bring us peace and security, and it’s time we reframe how we talk about security, ensuring it both puts human security first and addresses the biggest security threat we face – the climate crisis. Security doesn’t come through facilitating genocide, breaching international law, or supporting so-called allies no matter the cost; and security is certainly not achieved by protecting arms company profits no matter the cost.”
Notes to Editors:
- Read the full report here – https://caat.org.uk/publications/entangled-mapping-the-uk-us-arms-trade-and-their-intertwined-arms-industries-and-the-dangerous-dependencies-warmongering-and-complicity-that-result/
- For more information on transparency issues in the UK arms export control regime – see CAAT’s transparency report – https://caat.org.uk/news/new-report-demands-greater-transparency-on-arms-exports-as-sales-hit-record-levels-with-majority-of-licences-going-to-repressive-regimes/
- For more information, interviews etc, please contact [email protected] or [email protected]
