BAE Systems sells surveillance technology that is used to spy on people’s emails, texts and locations. The world’s seventh largest weapons manufacturer, U.K. company BAE Systems manufactures the M109 howitzer, a 155mm mobile artillery system that the Israeli military has been using extensively, firing tens of thousands of 155mm shells into the Gaza Strip.

Some of these shells are white phosphorus bombs, the use of which is forbidden in densely populated civilian areas and potentially amounts to a war crime.

Israel’s M109 were made by BAE in the U.S. decades ago and went through multiple rounds of improvements in Israel. They are slated to gradually be replaced by the 155mm Ro’em/Sigma, “the world’s first fully automatic howitzer,” made in Israel by Elbit Systems.

BAE also manufactures electronic missile launching kits and other components for Israel’s F-15, F-16, and F-35 fighter jets, which the Israeli Air Force has used extensively in all of its attacks on Gaza, including in 2023.

BAE, Britain’s biggest arms company, secretly sold mass surveillance technology to six Middle Eastern governments that have been criticised for repressing their citizens, the BBC has reported. The sophisticated technology can be used to spy on a huge number of people’s emails and mobile phones, triggering accusations from human rights campaigners that it is being used to silence or jail dissidents. According to documents obtained by the BBC, the equipment has been sold in recent years to the governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Algeria and Morocco.

The firm, now known as BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, sells a surveillance tool that, according to the BBC, can collect, catalogue and analyse millions of people’s electronic communications.

The BBC quotes an anonymous individual who it says used to work for the firm, describing the technology: “You would be able to intercept any internet traffic. If you wanted to do a whole country, go ahead. You would probably need something to narrow your search down, either by a specific person, a specific email address, specific IP address or specific keywords to search for.” The individual said the technology – which has been called Evident – can be used to pinpoint people’s location based on the data emitted by their mobile phones.