Moog 4 face trial for direct action against UK based arm of Israel's genocide machine

Birmingham — CAGE condemns the prosecution of the Moog 4, whose trial opens today at Birmingham Crown Court. In August 2025, four activists broke into the Wolverhampton factory of Moog Aircraft Group and allegedly caused damage to its facilities. It is understood that Moog had been shipping military components from Britain to Israel to maintain the aircraft used to train Israeli fighter pilots, whose F-16s and F-35s have been central to the sustained bombardment of Gaza.  

Cargo documents obtained by Declassified UK and The Ditch confirm that Moog dispatched at least ten shipments from Wolverhampton to Israel's Hatzerim airbase, supplying components for the M-346 Lavi trainer aircraft. The M-346 prepares Israeli pilots to fly F-16 and F-35 jets - both central to the sustained bombardment of Gaza. Moog designed the aircraft's flight control system and provided its maintenance. The UK government's own Foreign Office concluded the M-346 "facilitates the development of an offensive capability." It licensed the shipments regardless.

When Moog moved to obscure its supply routes following the August 2025 action, it was caught trucking military components to Liege airport in Belgium. Belgian authorities seized the shipments and opened a criminal investigation. Moog faces accountability abroad for conduct the UK government has actively shielded at home.

The prosecution of the Moog4 - two years into a genocide their government continues to service - must be viewed in the broader context of western governments protecting the interests of an arms company over Palestinian lives and their own citizens.

Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE, said:

"The defendants have spent six months on remand before their trial has even begun. The company whose factory they targeted continues to supply the apparatus slaughtering Palestinians in Gaza and faces a blind eye from British authorities. This prosecution amounts to the British state criminalising any meaningful challenge to its own role in genocide."

• Trial of the Moog4 begins at Birmingham Crown Court on 4 June 2026.

• The four face charges of criminal damage to property valued over £5,000 and conspiracy to destroy or damage property, following direct action at Moog Aircraft Group's Wolverhampton facility on 26 August 2025.

• Cargo documents obtained by Declassified UK and The Ditch confirm at least ten shipments from Moog's Wolverhampton site to Israel's Hatzerim airbase since December 2024, destined for the M-346 Lavi trainer aircraft programme operated by Elbit Systems.

• Moog designed the flight control system for the M-346 Lavi and provides ongoing maintenance - the aircraft trains Israeli pilots to fly F-16 and F-35 jets used in the bombing of Gaza.

• The UK government's own Foreign Office assessed that the M-346 "facilitates the development of an offensive capability" and continued to license shipments regardless.

• Moog subsequently rerouted shipments through Belgium, where authorities have seized the components and opened a criminal investigation - Belgium maintains a full arms embargo on Israel.

​