Economic Audit: Rolls-Royce

Supply Chain & Sourcing Relationships

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is an aerospace, defence, and power-systems manufacturer rather than a food, agribusiness, or retail operator, so the sourcing relationships relevant to this audit run through military and industrial supply chains rather than produce or retail channels. No public evidence identified of any relationship with Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, Agrexco successors, or other fresh-produce sourcing networks¹²³.

Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases involving Rolls-Royce-made equipment for Israel are principally contracted through the company’s wholly-owned US subsidiary, Rolls-Royce Solutions America, Inc. (Novi, Michigan), which acts as prime or principal contractor of record on Pentagon-administered FMS cases⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸. The German subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH (part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG) manufactures the MT-883 engine used in Israel’s Merkava Mark 4/5 battle tank and Namer armored personnel carrier¹²⁹. Rolls-Royce Solutions America is identified as prime/principal contractor for the Eitan 8x8 APC’s 8V199TE21-D power-pack, which integrates an MTU-6V890 engine and an Allison 4800 transmission⁴¹⁰⁵. MTU/Rolls-Royce engines reportedly power approximately 80% of Israeli Navy vessels per a 2015 estimate, including Super Dvora and Shaldag-class patrol boats¹²⁹. AFSC’s broader “Companies Profiting from the Gaza Genocide” tracking list also includes Rolls-Royce among monitored defence suppliers¹¹. The wider “Don’t Buy Into Occupation” coalition tracks Rolls-Royce within its coverage of companies and financiers linked to Israeli military supply chains¹².

A documented Foreign Military Sales contract timeline for Rolls-Royce/MTU-related equipment includes:

All five contracts post-date the 19 July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion, and the three most recent (April 2025, January 2026, February 2026) also post-date the November 2024 ICC arrest warrants, placing them within the “constructive notice” window discussed in Lawfare’s analysis of continued arms exports to Israel¹⁶. The February 2026 contract runs through December 2032 and was, as of this audit, ongoing⁸¹⁵.

Product Origin, Labeling & Regulatory Compliance

No public evidence identified of “Produce of Israel” mislabeling issues, DEFRA/customs country-of-origin findings, or labeling disputes involving Rolls-Royce, consistent with the company’s profile as an industrial/defence manufacturer rather than a consumer-goods producer¹². No public evidence identified of a corporate policy specific to sourcing or labeling goods originating in occupied territories.

The closest analogous compliance disclosure is Rolls-Royce Power Systems’ response to a joint call by UN Special Procedures experts (12 July 2024) urging a halt to arms transfers to Israel, in which the company stated that it “supports NATO and its allies in providing power solutions for defence purposes” and abides “by all applicable export control and sanctions laws” in the UK, US, and EU, including consideration against “a range of criteria, including relevant international law”¹⁷. No subsequent change to this policy position was identified as of 2026, and the company did not respond to a further outreach from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre dated 23 January 2026⁹.

The UK government’s September 2024 partial suspension of arms export licences to Israel for use in military operations in Gaza forms part of the regulatory backdrop against which Rolls-Royce’s continuing defence-related exports to Israel must be assessed¹⁸, and the House of Commons Library’s briefing on UK arms exports to Israel provides the broader statutory/licensing context for UK-domiciled defence manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce¹⁹.

Investment, Capital & Financial Exposure

In September 1999, Rolls-Royce (via Rolls-Royce Overseas Holding Ltd.) established Techjet Aerofoils Ltd., a jet-engine compressor-blade manufacturing joint venture at the Tefen Industrial Park in northern Israel (Galilee), originally structured as 50% Rolls-Royce, 30% Blades Technology Ltd., and 20% Wertheimer group²⁰²¹. In May 2014, Pratt & Whitney - a Rolls-Royce jet-engine competitor - acquired the Wertheimer family’s 51% stake in parent company Blades Technology International, which included its interest in Techjet Aerofoils, giving Pratt & Whitney full ownership of the former Wertheimer/Blades Technology side of the joint venture²²²³. Current, precise post-2014 ownership percentages between Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney were not confirmed; Techjet’s own site does not disclose a shareholder breakdown. Techjet’s own site confirms the facility remains active as a “Tier One supplier to Rolls-Royce jet engines,” employing 600+ people and producing blade forgings and machined components (nickel, titanium, steel) for the Trent, BR700, RB211, and V2500 engine families²⁴. Techjet’s stated customer focus is civil aerospace; No public evidence identified of direct Israeli military/IDF customer relationships at the Techjet facility itself²⁴.

A second, wholly-owned Israeli entity, Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd., operates at 6 Meir Ariel St., Netanya, offering power generation, marine, oil & gas, mining, rail, and defense (naval and land systems) solutions and support¹²²⁵. No public evidence identified of a Rolls-Royce-branded R&D lab, accelerator, or Israel Innovation Authority co-funded project in Israel.

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has no controlling parent; approximately 81–82% of shares are held by institutional investors with no single holder near a controlling stake, with reported top holders including Baillie Gifford & Co. (~12.2%), Invesco Ltd. (~6.7%), and Fidelity International (~5.3%), alongside alternative datasets showing Capital Group, BlackRock, and Vanguard among top-20 holders that together hold roughly 51% of shares²⁶. CAAT’s company data page corroborates Rolls-Royce’s institutional ownership and defence-sector financial profile²⁷. No public evidence identified of these asset managers’ Israel-related holdings being disclosed as attributable to Rolls-Royce’s own corporate investment portfolio, and No public evidence identified of Rolls-Royce Holdings itself holding Israeli sovereign bonds, Israeli-domiciled equities, or Israel-focused funds as a corporate treasury matter.

Rolls-Royce Holdings is an industrial/manufacturing group rather than a financial institution, so direct “financing the state” activity (sovereign-debt underwriting, Israel Bonds sales, insurance underwriting) is not applicable to the company itself; No public evidence identified of such activity. On the financier side, PAX’s June 2024 report identifies European banks - led by BNP Paribas (EUR 5.7 billion in loans/underwriting since 2021) - as financiers of six named global arms producers including Rolls-Royce, holding a combined EUR 36.1 billion in loans/underwriting and EUR 26 billion in shares/bonds across those producers²⁸²⁹. BankTrack’s companion coverage similarly documents European financial institutions investing billions in arms companies, including Rolls-Royce, that sell weapons systems to Israel³⁰.

Operational Presence & Market Activity

Rolls-Royce’s confirmed Israeli physical footprint consists of two entities: Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd. (Netanya, a sales/support/defense-solutions office)¹²⁵ and Techjet Aerofoils Ltd. (Tefen Industrial Park, a manufacturing plant with 600+ employees)²⁴. Employee counts, and tax/VAT registration specifics, for Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd. were not located; No public evidence identified.

Who Profits reports Rolls-Royce’s 2024 revenues in Israel exceeded USD 97 million¹. No public evidence identified of an Israel-specific revenue line in Rolls-Royce’s own published Annual Report geographic segmentation, which breaks revenue out only by broad region. No public evidence identified of Rolls-Royce annual reports or investor materials characterizing Israel by name as a strategic market, export market, or regional hub.

The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre describes Rolls-Royce Holdings as “the UK’s second largest weapons manufacturer,” whose German subsidiary MTU makes the engines for Israel’s battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, and warships⁹. CAAT’s mapping of UK companies manufacturing components for Israel’s F-35 combat aircraft references Rolls-Royce’s broader UK defence-sector role, though the specific detail available (a LiftSystem component) applies to the F-35B variant rather than the F-35I/F-35A variant operated by Israel; No public evidence identified of Rolls-Royce F-35 component supply specific to Israel’s fleet³¹. MTU/Rolls-Royce engines reportedly power approximately 80% of Israeli Navy vessels per a 2015 estimate, including Super Dvora and Shaldag-class patrol boats, underscoring the company’s operational centrality to Israeli defence platforms even absent a formal government designation¹²⁹.

Corporate Structure & Foundational Ties

Rolls-Royce was founded in 1904 in Manchester, England; Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is incorporated and headquartered in the UK²⁷. It was not founded in Israel and has never maintained a dual or legacy Israeli headquarters.

Assessed against the four Israeli-Nexus Floor factors: the company was not founded in Israel (founded 1904, Manchester)²⁷; its headquarters and principal place of management are in London, UK, not Israel²⁷; No public evidence identified of Rolls-Royce Holdings or its Israeli subsidiaries holding Preferred Technology Enterprise (PTE) status or Israeli tax residency; and the company is not beneficially owned or controlled by Israeli capital, with roughly 81–82% institutional, non-Israeli-identified ownership and no Israeli controlling shareholder identified²⁶. None of the four Israeli-Nexus Floor factors are triggered on current evidence; nexus to Israel instead runs through operating subsidiaries, joint ventures, and defence-sales relationships rather than through Israeli control or domicile of the parent.

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (formerly Rolls-Royce Group plc) is subject to a UK Government “special share” (golden share), held by HM Treasury’s nominee since the 1987 privatisation, which caps any single foreign shareholder or concert party at 15% of shares, requires the CEO and a majority of directors to be British, and requires Special Shareholder consent for disposal of the nuclear business or the whole group³². This is a UK, not Israeli, state linkage, noted explicitly to avoid misattribution. No public evidence identified of governance features tying Rolls-Royce to Israeli state or policy objectives.

Cross-checking against authoritative UN sources: Rolls-Royce does not appear by name in the publicly accessible summaries of the UN Special Rapporteur’s “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” report (A/HRC/59/23, 2 July 2025)³³, and Rolls-Royce does not appear in the OHCHR settlement-business database under HRC resolution 31/36, which centers on settlement-support enterprises (construction, retail, security, utilities) rather than arms manufacturers³⁴. By contrast, Who Profits and AFSC’s investigate.info platform each maintain dedicated company dossiers on Rolls-Royce documenting military-supply relationships with Israel¹², and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and BDS at UCL likewise maintain company profiles addressing Rolls-Royce’s Israel-related activity³³⁵.

No public evidence identified of personal or family-office investments by Rolls-Royce’s controlling board members in Israeli companies, Israeli defence primes, or settlement-linked entities.

Profit Repatriation & Economic Contribution

The best available figure for Israel-attributable revenue is Who Profits’ estimate of USD 97 million for 2024¹. No public evidence identified of a primary-source Rolls-Royce Annual Report line item confirming this figure directly. Israeli-registered subsidiaries - Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd. and the Techjet Aerofoils joint venture - are downstream operating units of the UK-domiciled parent structure (and, for the power-systems business, the German Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG parent)¹²⁵³²; on the ownership structure identified, profits from Israeli operations flow outward to the UK/German parent structure rather than inward to Israel, and no evidence was found of Israeli-domiciled ownership of Rolls-Royce Holdings²⁶.

No public evidence identified of an Israeli government or industry-body designation of Rolls-Royce or its subsidiaries as a sector anchor, key employer, or critical-infrastructure provider within Israel. MTU/Rolls-Royce engines reportedly power approximately 80% of Israeli Navy vessels per a 2015 estimate, which speaks to defence-sector centrality but is a secondary-source estimate rather than a formal government designation¹².

Settlement nexus. Techjet Aerofoils’ plant is located in the Tefen Industrial Park in the Western Galilee, inside the internationally recognized 1967 borders of Israel, not in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or Golan Heights²⁰²¹²⁴. No public evidence identified of any Rolls-Royce operations, sales, distribution, resellers, franchisees, or licensees located in or servicing West Bank (including East Jerusalem) or Golan Heights settlements specifically. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (luxury vehicles) is a separate, BMW Group-owned entity, legally and commercially distinct from Rolls-Royce Holdings plc; No public evidence identified of a Rolls-Royce Motor Cars dealer or showroom in Israel or in settlements, and this brand is noted here only to prevent conflation with the audit target.

Civil-society end-use characterizations. NGO sources including Who Profits, AFSC, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and BDS at UCL assert that Rolls-Royce/MTU-powered platforms have been used in Gaza operations since October 2023, citing specific incidents such as a January 2024 Rafah/Gaza incident involving a child’s death, a June 2025 incident near a Gaza aid-distribution point, hospital-vicinity operations, and a reported “first West Bank deployment since 2005” in February 2025¹²³³⁵⁹. These are civil-society and press characterizations of platform end-use, attributed here to the originating organizations rather than presented as independently adjudicated findings.

End Notes