Easily the largest weapons manufacturer in Britain, BAE has US$38 billion in assets. It consistently ranks among the world’s four largest war profiteers, and was in second place in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Not too surprisingly, about 96% of BAE’s revenues come from military sales.

Of the US$64.7 billion in contracts that BAE had with the US federal government between 2000 and 2009, US$61 billion (95%) were with military departments and agencies. During each of those years, BAE figured among the Pentagon’s top 15 suppliers. And, the company ranked seventh among the top Pentagon contractors for that decade.

BAE also supplies high-tech components for major US weapons systems of the kind sold to Israel, including AH-64 "Apache" attack helicopters, and F-15 and F-16 warplanes. The Israeli Air Force used these aircraft when attacking Lebanon in 2006, and Gaza in 2008-2009. Between 1999 and 2009, the US "Government Contracts Won" database lists BAE Systems and its subsidiaries as having received 265 contracts, worth US$460 million for these three weapons systems alone.

The BAE equipment used aboard Israeli F-15s includes "Head-Up Displays." These transparent displays of flight and weapons-control data allow pilots to avoid looking down at cockpit instruments.

Israel was reported to have used BAE’s "Suter" airborne network attack system to bomb Syria in 2007.

In 2005, BAE acquired United Defense Industries (UDI), a major US weapons maker owned by The Carlyle Group between 1997 and 2004. After this US$4.2 billion acquisition, UDI became known as US Combat Systems and BAE formed its Land & Armaments division. This BAE division designs, manufactures and provides "integrated logistics support throughout the product life-cycle" for battle vehicles, heavy artillery, naval weapons, missile launchers and munitions. Many of these BAE weapons systems are now part of Israel’s arsenal, including:

Defense Technology Corp., a US-based firm owned by BAE, supplies CS tear gas to Israel’s police and military which routinely use it against Palestinian protesters. Deaths have resulted from using this kind of tear gas. For instance, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on New Year’s day 2011 that Jawaher Abu Rahmah "died…after she was exposed to tear gas that was shot by IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers to disperse the crowd of demonstrators against the separation wall" in the West-Bank village of Bil’in. Her brother "Bassem Abu Rahmah…was killed by an extended-range tear gas projectile fired at his chest by IDF soldiers…on April 17, 2009."

BAE’s Israel subsidiary, BAE Rokar International, manufactures three main products:

(1) "Combat-proven" electronic warfare systems for warplanes and helicopters. Rokar is "the sole supplier of these systems to the Israeli Air Force."

(2) Global positioning systems and guidance systems for space, air, land and naval platforms, as well as for rockets, smart munitions and projectiles.

(3) Armament control systems for fighter aircraft, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

BAE is on the global team building the F-35 warplane, which Israel has on order. BAE responsibility is to design the aft fuselage, the horizontal and vertical tails, and the wing-fold mechanism for one variant of this fighter/bomber. The F-35’s prime contractor is Lockheed Martin (LM). (See LM in table "CPP Investments.")