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Does Rolls-Royce support Israel?

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

Business presence documentedupdated 2026-09-25

Rolls-Royce does business in Israel — we found records of its operations there, but no record of donations, aid, or a public statement of support. Every claim below links to its source.

Filed under: Tech companies · Companies that support Israel

Background

This page is about Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, the British aero-engine, defence and power-systems group whose businesses include Rolls-Royce plc and, through Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the MTU engine brand. Rolls-Royce cars are built by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW company, which is a different business with a different owner and is not covered here; BMW's own record is kept separately. The confusion is routine even in official and trade sources: the British Embassy's own release about the EL AL engine deal calls Rolls-Royce plc an “automobile maker”, and a February 2026 JNS report described Rolls-Royce Holdings as the group “which controls the famous car brand”. Most Hebrew-language coverage of “Rolls-Royce” is about luxury-car imports, which belongs to the BMW marque and not to this company. What the records show here is commerce, not support: almost every Israel-linked figure above is a U.S. Foreign Military Sales contract, in which the U.S. government contracts the manufacturer and delivers the equipment to Israel, usually with U.S. grant aid — a sale to the U.S. government, never a gift from Rolls-Royce. We found no donation, no in-kind aid, no employee-matching programme, no sponsorship and no public statement of support for Israel. The only public comment by the company we found on arms transfers to Israel came from its Power Systems division on 12 July 2024, answering the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre after UN experts called on companies to stop transferring arms to Israel: “Rolls-Royce supports the NATO and its allies in providing power solutions for defence purposes. In doing so, we abide by all applicable export control and sanctions laws.” That is a compliance statement about export law, not an expression of support. Rolls-Royce does not appear in the UN database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements. It is listed by Who Profits and by AFSC Investigate, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign's page links it to the F-35; on that last point Rolls-Royce's own product page describes its F-35 work as the LiftSystem, the vertical-lift system fitted only to the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B, while Israel flies a conventional take-off variant.

Who Profits — Rolls-Royce profile (states the car maker is a separate BMW company) AFSC Investigate — Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Business & Human Rights Resource Centre — Rolls-Royce Power Systems' response (12 July 2024) British Embassy Tel Aviv (GOV.UK) — the “automobile maker” description Rolls-Royce — LiftSystem product page (F-35B only) Palestine Solidarity Campaign — Rolls Royce

Timeline of documented records

2015201720192021202320252015-01 — Operations in Israel: Israeli Navy — MTU engines across the fleet and the Navy's engine workshop at Betzet baseOperations in Israel2015-012015-03 — Government contract: Israeli Navy — Super Dvora fast patrol boat propulsion (Foreign Military Sales case IS-P-LHC)Government contract2015-032016-03 — Partnership: EL AL Israel Airlines — Trent 1000 engines and TotalCare service for its Boeing 787 fleetPartnership2016-032018-01 — Government contract: Israeli Air Force — AE 2100 engines and spares for C-130J transports, through U.S. Air Force contractsGovernment contract2018-012018-12 — Government contract: Government of Israel — engines and components for Israeli naval vessels (Foreign Military Sales case IS-P-GPB)Government contract2018-122021-09 — Government contract: Israeli military — Namer armoured personnel carrier power packs, through U.S. Foreign Military SalesGovernment contract2021-092023-08 — Government contract: Israeli military — Eitan armoured personnel carrier programme, through U.S. Foreign Military Sales (case IS-B-ZMU)Government contract2023-082025 — Investment / program: Techjet Aerofoils Ltd, Migdal Tefen, Israel — 50% joint operationInvestment / program20252025 — Operations in Israel: Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd, Netanya — the group's own Israeli companyOperations in Israel20252026-02 — Government contract: Israeli military — Merkava tank fleet, through U.S. Foreign Military SalesGovernment contract2026-02

Documented records

TypeDateAmountRecipientSources
Government contract2026-02-18$73,528,916Israeli military — Merkava tank fleet, through U.S. Foreign Military Sales
U.S. Army Contracting Command at Detroit Arsenal obligated $73,528,916 on 18 February 2026 under firm-fixed-price contract W912CH26C0019 to Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc. of Novi, Michigan, for Merkava tank power-pack kits in full and lite configurations, metal containers and contractor engineering technical services for Israel. The federal record puts the ordering ceiling at $462,947,462 and the period of performance as 18 February 2026 to 31 March 2027, with a potential end date of 31 March 2033; much of the work is done at Graniteville, South Carolina. The Merkava Mark 4 is powered by the MTU MT 883, built in the United States under licence by General Dynamics as the GD883 — MTU is the engine brand of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the group's German division. An earlier award, W56HZV20C0049, obligated $1,599,528 on 11 May 2020 for three kits of engine parts for Israel's Merkava engines, also through Foreign Military Sales. Framed precisely: the U.S. government is the contracting party and Israel the recipient, so these are commercial sales, not gifts from Rolls-Royce.
Government contract2023-08-10$119,780,051Israeli military — Eitan armoured personnel carrier programme, through U.S. Foreign Military Sales (case IS-B-ZMU)
Sole-source contract W56HZV23C0054 to Rolls-Royce Solutions America for Eitan power packs under FY2022 Foreign Military Sales funds, Israel case IS-B-ZMU. The federal record shows $35,793,487 obligated at award on 10 August 2023 for 68 power packs plus engineering, then $8,449,000 in March 2024 for 17 more, $37,181,554 in July 2024 and $38,356,010 in August 2025 for a second option year of 70 power packs — $119,780,051 obligated in total against a $160,306,717 ceiling, running to 31 December 2027. Separately, on 14 April 2025 the U.S. State Department approved a Foreign Military Sale of Eitan 8V199TE21-D power-pack engines and components for an estimated total of $180 million, combining an earlier case worth $85.5 million that fell below the congressional notification threshold; the notice names Rolls-Royce Solutions America, Novi, Michigan, as principal contractor and states that implementation requires no additional U.S. government or contractor representatives in Israel. The State Department approval and the Army contract are two records of the same programme, so their figures are not additive.
Government contract2021-09-17$193,999,241Israeli military — Namer armoured personnel carrier power packs, through U.S. Foreign Military Sales
The Pentagon's contract announcement records that Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc., Novi, Michigan, was awarded a $193,999,241 firm-fixed-price contract for Namer armoured personnel carrier Power Packs Less Transmissions, with fiscal 2020 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds of $193,999,241 obligated at award and U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, as contracting activity (W56HZV-21-C-0087). Later modifications in the federal record describe up to 240 fully assembled and 30 partially assembled power packs “in support of the Government of Israel”; total obligations now stand at $200,539,963, with performance to 31 December 2026. The programme was approved by the U.S. State Department on 12 February 2019 (transmittal 19-05) for 240 full and 30 light power packs plus 179 control and diagnostic systems at an estimated $238 million, a notice that named the prime contractor as “MTU America, Novi, MI”, adding that “MTU America is the North American subsidiary of Rolls Royce Power Systems” — the same corporate entity, since renamed. The 2019 approval and the 2021 contract are the same programme and their figures are not additive.
Government contract2018-12-03$7,946,893Government of Israel — engines and components for Israeli naval vessels (Foreign Military Sales case IS-P-GPB)
The Pentagon announced that MTU America Inc. (formerly Tognum America Inc.), Novi, Michigan, was awarded $7,946,893 as sole-source firm-fixed-price delivery order N0002419FB028 under basic purchase agreement N00024-14-A-4101 “to provide the government of Israel with MTU engines and engine components to support the Israeli marine vessels under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case IS-P-GPB”, covering MTU engine series M90, M94, TB54, TB82, TB93, TB94, TE83, TE94 and SE84, with work at Brownstown Township, Michigan, and Naval Sea Systems Command as contracting activity. The same order appears in the federal spending record under the recipient's current name, Rolls-Royce Solutions America Inc. — the Novi entity was renamed as the group consolidated its MTU businesses, so the contractor then and now is the same subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Holdings.
Government contract2015-03-23$6,868,800Israeli Navy — Super Dvora fast patrol boat propulsion (Foreign Military Sales case IS-P-LHC)
The Pentagon announced that MTU America Inc., Novi, Michigan, was awarded a $6,868,800 firm-fixed-price contract (N00024-15-C-4127) for three shipsets of propulsion system hardware and two spare marine gears for the Israeli Navy's Super Dvora fast patrol boats, a contract “100 percent” Foreign Military Sales to Israel under case IS-P-LHC and a follow-on to contract N00104-06-C-K058, on which the federal record shows $16,050,032 obligated from May 2006. The announcement states that the government of Israel designated the sole source in its letter of offer and acceptance, and that the work was performed in Friedrichshafen, Germany (70 percent) and Kristinehamn, Sweden (30 percent) — the engines for this one were built in Europe rather than the United States. The spending record for the 2015 contract shows MTU 12V 4000 M90 propulsion engines and final obligations of $7,135,980.
Government contract2018-01-29$5,622,035Israeli Air Force — AE 2100 engines and spares for C-130J transports, through U.S. Air Force contracts
Rolls-Royce Corporation of Indianapolis — the group's U.S. engine subsidiary, which builds the AE 2100 that Rolls-Royce's own product pages identify as the powerplant of the Lockheed Martin C-130J — holds U.S. Air Force contracts for engines and spares for Israeli Air Force C-130J aircraft. Awards naming Israel as the only recipient total $5,622,035 and include $3,753,217 for “commercial procurement of one (1) C-130J engine for the Israeli Air Force” (February 2013), $892,792 for Israeli Air Force engine spares (January 2018), $749,130 for C-130 engine spares for the Israel Air Force (September 2017), $181,207 for engine spares for the Israel Air Force C-130J programme (July 2016), and three small orders for contractor travel and in-country programme review in Israel — $20,984 (March 2023), $14,702 (August 2019) and $10,003 (July 2018). Further awards name Israel alongside another country and are excluded from that figure, because the record states no Israel-only share: $6,405,389 for a spare engine and engine spares for the Israel and Iraq air forces (October 2015), $1,886,231 for C-130J engine spare parts “in support of France and Israel” (November 2016), $308,958 for Iraq/Israel C-130 AE 2100D3 engine spares (October 2016) and $16,767 for propeller spares to support Israel and Iraq's C-130 fleets (August 2015) — $8,617,345 across those four awards, covering Israel, Iraq and France.
Partnership2016-03-21£1,000,000,000EL AL Israel Airlines — Trent 1000 engines and TotalCare service for its Boeing 787 fleet
On 21 March 2016 Rolls-Royce plc and EL AL Israel Airlines signed a strategic agreement under which Rolls-Royce supplies the Trent 1000 engines for EL AL's Boeing 787 Dreamliners and provides their maintenance and support through its TotalCare service, covering a fleet renewal of 15 Dreamliners with options for 13 more. The signing was published by the British Embassy in Tel Aviv, with Britain's ambassador David Quarrey calling it “the largest ever UK deal to Israel”; a Foreign Office account of how the bid was won describes it as “a massive £1 billion win”, and UK Export Finance supported the aircraft deliveries. The parties themselves did not disclose the contract value, so the £1 billion figure is the UK government's characterisation, not a published price. This is Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine company — the embassy's own write-up wrongly calls it an “automobile maker”.
Investment / program2025—Techjet Aerofoils Ltd, Migdal Tefen, Israel — 50% joint operation
Rolls-Royce Holdings' own 2025 annual report lists Techjet Aerofoils Limited, registered at the Tefen industrial zone in northern Israel, among its joint ventures and associates, with a 50% group interest accounted for as a joint operation. The Israeli Registrar of Companies records Techjet Aerofoils Ltd (company number 512392994) as an active Israeli private company at Migdal Tefen, incorporated on 10 November 1996. Techjet's own homepage describes it as a Tier One supplier of blade forgings for Rolls-Royce jet engines, with more than 600 employees, a 30,000 m² shop floor, 24 automated presses and 190 machining centres. This is a civil-aerospace manufacturing holding inside Israel, not a donation or a grant.
Operations in Israel2025—Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Ltd, Netanya — the group's own Israeli company
Rolls-Royce reports Israel as a named market in its own audited accounts. The 2025 annual report's segmental analysis of revenue by destination of the ultimate operator shows £139m for Israel (2024: £73m), the employee note reports 300 employees in Israel, and the list of subsidiary undertakings includes Rolls-Royce Solutions Israel Limited at 6 Meir Ariel Street, Netanya. The Israeli Registrar of Companies shows that company (number 513596924) as active, incorporated on 14 October 2004 in Netanya. A second, older registration — Rolls-Royce Industrial Power Engineering (Overseas Projects) Ltd, company number 560026155, registered at the Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv in September 2009 — has since been struck off the Israeli register, which is a relationship that ended rather than one that continues.
Operations in Israel2015-01-26—Israeli Navy — MTU engines across the fleet and the Navy's engine workshop at Betzet base
Israel Defense magazine, reporting from the Israeli Navy's engine maintenance and overhaul workshop, quoted the workshop's commander, Major Radian Leonte, saying that “about 80% of the vessels use engines by MTU of Germany”, and reported that the workshop's new home and Israel's only engine running-in installation “were built with the help of the MTU Company of Germany, the largest supplier of engines to the Israeli Navy”. MTU Friedrichshafen is the engine brand of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the group's German division. Trade coverage of the Israeli Navy's Sa'ar 6 corvettes describes a combined diesel and diesel arrangement built around two MTU diesel engines. Who Profits, an advocacy research centre, additionally lists MTU engines in the Sa'ar 2, Sa'ar 72, Shaldag and Super Dvora Mk III classes and says the Sa'ar 6 ships have enforced the naval blockade of Gaza; its profile carries no citations for those points, so they are recorded here as its characterisation.

Frequently asked questions

Did Rolls-Royce donate money to Israel or Israeli causes?

We have no records of donations. What is on record is commercial activity in Israel (Government contract, Partnership, Investment / program, Operations in Israel), which is not the same as support — see the records on this page.

Where does this information come from?

Every record on this page links to its source — news reports, official company statements, tax filings, or government records. 44 distinct sources are cited for Rolls-Royce. Our methodology page explains the full verification process.

Sources & citations

Record last updated: 2026-09-25

Companies with documented support