The Action
On 26 August 2025, four protesters entered Moog’s Wolverhampton facility in an action intended to disrupt the supply of military aircraft components to Israel. This page traces the planning, the events of that morning and the legal and commercial aftermath that followed.
Before 26 August 2026
According to evidence heard during the trial, the action at Moog Aircraft Group's Wolverhampton facility was the culmination of several months of research by the defendants into the company's alleged role in supplying components for military aircraft used by Israel. The defendants told the jury that they had become concerned by publicly available reporting linking Moog to the F-35 and Leonardo M-346 programmes and had concluded that disrupting production could interrupt the supply of aircraft components destined for the Israeli Air Force.
They said they had deliberately selected a factory involved in the aerospace supply chain rather than targeting individuals, believing that a temporary interruption to production could have a disproportionate effect because of the industry's "just-in-time" manufacturing model. Iain Evans, a former aerospace industry employee who had worked for a company that supplied parts to Moog, explained that even relatively short production delays could have significant downstream effects on deliveries due to the "Just in Time" supply chain that they operated.
The group carried out reconnaissance of the Wolverhampton site before the action and selected the August Bank Holiday weekend because the factory was expected to be closed, thereby minimising the risk of encountering workers. They equipped themselves with climbing equipment, tents, food, battery-powered tools, and wore T-shirts displaying photographs of four Palestinians killed during the conflict in Gaza - journalist Hossam Shabat, writer Refaat Alareer, surgeon Adnan al-Bursh and 17-year-old amputee basketball player Raghad Al-Jabri.
One defendant, Hisham Alkhamesi, used money left to him by his late grandmother to contribute to the equipment used in the action. They also stored all of their research on Moog and its role in the Gaza genocide on USB memory sticks that they carried with them so that they would be found on them when arrested.
During the trial, the defendants said the purpose of the action was to disrupt exports for as long as possible and that avoiding any risk of harm to other people had been a central part of the planning.
Tuesday 26 August 2025
At 3.50 a.m. on 26 August 2025, the four defendants drove a van through the factory's security gates before entering the site and climbing onto the roof. Prosecutors alleged that the group then used battery-powered tools to cut, drill and damage roof structures, skylights and other property. A banner reading "Free Palestine" was suspended from the roof and videos of the protesters on the roof were uploaded to social media sites explaining that they were taking action against Moog in order to disrupt the supply of parts for F-35 fighter jets and M-346 fighter jet trainers to Israel.
Nobody was inside the factory at the time of the protest but security officers called the police and after approximately 10 minutes, Staffordshire Police had arrived at the site under Officer in Command Martin Ottey. A police helicopter was also called and subsequently a specialist rooftop protest removal team arrived, also from Staffordshire Police.
The occupation continued until approximately 10am by which time armed police and specialist officers had secured the site and removed and arrested the four protesters. CCTV footage, helicopter imagery and police bodycam footage documenting the action formed a substantial part of the prosecution case.
During the trial, the defendants maintained that the operation had been carefully planned to avoid injury to employees or emergency responders and that their objective had been to halt or delay the export of aircraft components which they believed contributed to Israeli military operations in Gaza. The prosecution accepted that the defendants had not intended to harm individuals but argued that their political motivation did not provide a lawful excuse for deliberately causing extensive criminal damage to commercial premises.
Aftermath of the action
The four defendants were arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with criminal damage exceeding £5,000 and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. Following their first appearance before magistrates, they were remanded into custody pending further proceedings.
In the weeks following the protest, Moog sought a High Court injunction against "persons unknown" in relation to protest activity at a number of its UK sites. The injunction prohibited trespass, obstruction of access and interference with the company's operations.
The injunction proceedings also revealed that Moog had been in regular contact with Staffordshire Police before the protest. According to Moog's own evidence, the contact began after the company was approached by Declassified UK about its shipments of aircraft components to Israel. From 1 July 2025, police visited the Wolverhampton site on several occasions, reviewed the journalist's correspondence, discussed the risk of protest and site security, and advised Moog on additional control measures. Uniformed police officers subsequently carried out regular patrols of the site in the weeks before the 26 August action.
Court documents filed by Moog's General Counsel also referred to the Crown Prosecution Service's intention to seek a finding that the offences had a "terrorism connection" for sentencing purposes under section 69 of the Sentencing Act 2020 if convictions were secured. Although no terrorism offences were charged, this was one of the first publicly reported indications that prosecutors intended to pursue the terrorism connection provisions in relation to a protest against UK military exports to Israel.
The case was later transferred to the Old Bailey because of its alleged seriousness, with preliminary hearings taking place before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, one of the High Court Judges who sits on the Terrorism List. The defendants remained in custody for approximately six months before being granted conditional bail ahead of their trial, which was listed to take place in Birmingham Crown Court before Mr Justice Wall, also on the Terrorism List of High Court Judges, on 4 June 2026.
Evidence emerging after the protest suggested that the action had a measurable impact on Moog's exports to Israel, although not Moog Wolverhampton's broader financial results for 2025. Shipping records analysed by journalists and campaigners indicate that military aircraft component shipments from the Wolverhampton facility to Israel ceased for more than three weeks following the action, with exports not resuming until 19 September 2025. Subsequent shipment data also suggested that monthly export volumes remained substantially below pre-action levels for several months, with the number of consignments to Israel reportedly falling by around half. Meanwhile Moog Wolverhampton's revenues in 2025 grew by more than 35% compared to 2024, with profits more than trebling.
Campaigners argued that this demonstrated the practical effect of disrupting a "just-in-time" aerospace supply chain, while Moog has not publicly commented on the reasons for any changes in shipping volumes.
Moog M-346 shipments from Wolverhampton to Israel interrupted for 3 weeks after 26 August 2025
The combination of the criminal prosecution, the civil injunction and the proposed application of the terrorism connection provisions marked a significant escalation in the legal response to direct-action protests targeting defence manufacturers. The case therefore attracted wider attention beyond the immediate allegations of criminal damage, becoming part of a broader public debate concerning protest, arms exports, corporate responsibility and the use of terrorism-related sentencing powers in non-violent protest cases.
