The arms industry and education
The available information suggests there is widespread collaboration between arms companies and UK places of education. However, the full-scale of collaboration is currently unknown and uncovering this is one of the core aims of the campaign. To help us gather this information, please join the campaign.
Below is a summary of available information on the relationship between the arms industry and UK places of education. It is structured into three parts:
Analysis of the reasons for partnerships from the perspective of both the industry itself and the education system.
A breakdown of partnerships by company.
The Reasons for Partnerships
UK schools have been pushed into these partnerships after decades of underfunding of the education system. Schools have been forced to collaborate with private businesses to fund the curriculum and maintain resources; these businesses in turn have had unprecedented control of school curriculums, pedagogy and governance structures. In a capitalist system, the role of education transforms two folds. Firstly, education transforms from a means to instill young people with the pursuit of knowledge to instead producing the future workforce. Secondly, places of education directly reinforce dominant ideologies, values and beliefs. The partnership between schools and arms companies reinforces the state’s production of war and violence.
For arms companies, places of education are a means to recruit and shape the workforce. Early recruitment initiatives allow arms companies to shape the characteristics and qualities they want to see in their future workplace. The diversification of manufacturing portfolios by arms companies obscures their central function, the manufacturing of weapons, used to kill millions of people across the globe. Partnerships in schools and colleges orientated around STEM gives these companies legitimacy, a way of cleaning up their image and positioning themselves as world leaders of engineering and technology. This is central to the maintenance of arms’ companies social licence to continue producing the means of violent destruction.
BAE Systems
BAE is the largest arms company in the UK and the sixth largest globally. They are also relatively undiversified with 98% of total revenues coming from arms. BAE are the most direct link between the UK and the genocide in Gaza. BAE produces 13-15% of each F-35 fighter jet across its global operations. Israel has 39 F-35s, with a further 36 on order. Israel has used these aircraft, loaded with US-made 2000lb bombs, in its genocidal assault on Gaza. For example, on the 2nd of September 2024, it was revealed that an F-35 was used in July to drop three 2000lb bombs in an attack on a so-called “safe zone” in Khan Younis, killing 90 people.
BAE collaborates extensively with UK schools and post-16 institutions. BAE invests £100m in education, skills and early careers activities in the UK annually. The centre point of this is the ‘STEM Roadshow’ which has led to 5,000 school visits, reaching over 1.3 million pupils. In 2025, BAE announced £3.5m in funding to continue the programme for a further five years. BAE Systems became the non-financial sponsor of Furness Academy in 2015 and senior BAE employees maintain two positions on the school’s governing body.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin, based in the USA, is the largest arms company in the world, with 90% of its over $60m in annual revenues coming from arms. Lockheed Martin are the principal contractor for the F-35 aircraft, for which BAE produce 13-15% of the parts.
Lockheed Martin themselves summarise the centrality of places of education to their continued production of arms. They note “our future success and our nation’s technological advantage depend on a constant supply of highly trained, highly capable and technical talent. We believe strongly that advancing STEM education requires collaboration among industry, schools and colleges, policymakers and families”. Lockheed Martin produced a STEM activity pack for British Science week. The pack included a colouring activity for the F-35 fighter jet. They also offer an annual week of work experience for schools local to their UK offices.
Babcock International
Babcock International Group is the 38th largest arms company in the world, with 74% revenues coming from arms. The company has partnerships with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd, a state-owned aerospace manufacturer that supplies the Israeli military. Between 2008 and 2021 Babcock applied to the British government for 12 arms export licenses to supply weapons, components, or military technology to Israel.
Babcock Learning and Development Partnership was formed in 2012 as an agreement between Devon Country Council and Babock to provide school support services, including attendance monitoring and pupil assessment. They also provided a range of education services, resources, training, conferences and online learning. In addition, Babcock have a team of over 100 STEM Ambassadors who work with local schools and colleges, as well as work experience and apprenticeship programmes. They see this as crucial to the recruitment, in their own words “many of our senior managers started their careers as apprentices in Babcock”.