It\u2019s an odd feeling being here; the area feels like one big homage to its aviation heritage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The community hub is a repurposed Spitfire hangar. On the side of an overpass, a large electronic billboard shows an army recruitment advert with the words: \u201cYou Belong Here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rooftops are shaped like jet wings. Modern housing built on old airfields. Streets are named after fighter pilots from the \u201cgolden age of aviation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Filton has been at the heart of British aviation for over a century. It began in 1910 with the founding of the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, transforming a small village into a hub of aircraft manufacture. During both world wars, the area\u2019s factories produced planes for the war effort.<\/p>\n
Famously, Concorde, the supersonic passenger jet capable of flying from London to New York in under four hours, was built here. Now Filton hosts aerospace giants including BAE Systems, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN, and MBDA.<\/p>\n
But a darker reality lies beneath. Filton\u2019s factories, at the heart of the UK\u2019s aerospace and defence industry, produce arms used in deadly conflicts around the world.<\/p>\n
Unveiling this underbelly is what brought me here, on a walking tour of the area\u2019s arms factories with activists Ryan*, Emma*, and Sally* from Bristol Against The Arms Trade (BAAT)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stirling Dynamics Hits 600 Units<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re in an industrial estate in nearby Stoke Gifford when Ryan stops outside a nondescript building, the kind that wouldn\u2019t normally warrant a second glance. A new business has moved in: Stirling Dynamics.<\/p>\n It catches Emma\u2019s attention. She approaches a woman on a fag break outside the reception: \u201cDo you make anything here, or is it just offices?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, we do some manufacturing here,\u201d the woman replies. Moments later, a man in a charcoal suit comes to join his colleague. \u201cWho are you?\u201d he asks Emma. \u201cJust a curious passerby!\u201d Emma replies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The pair stiffen, the conversation peters. Their unease may be because Stirling Dynamics is a supplier for the F-35 fighter jet programme<\/a>. This site holds an open general export licence (GEL)<\/a> allowing it to sell unlimited quantities of simulator cockpit controls to partner countries including the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might mean they don\u2019t export directly to Israel,\u201d Ryan explains, \u201cbut their parts could still end up there.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s website proudly notes production of its \u2018600th production unit\u2019<\/a> for the F-35 programme. Seemingly unconcerned by the devastating use in \u2018designated safe zones\u2019 in Gaza and the West Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s murky as hell,\u201d Ryan mutters.<\/p>\n Boeing not accepting CVs\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ryan checks the route on his phone, and notices an unmarked building on the map. Curious, we pull into the car park. Only a few vehicles are around, the windows are blacked out, and it\u2019s hard to tell if anyone is inside. Through the glass, we can just about make out one word: Boeing.<\/p>\n Last year, Boeing \u2014 the world\u2019s fifth largest arms manufacturer \u2014 recorded profits of $2.24bn (around \u00a31.6bn). Its F-15 fighter jets and Apache helicopters have both been deployed in Gaza.<\/p>\n Ryan points to a long row of empty bike racks: \u201cLook how eco-friendly they are,\u201d he jokes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Footsteps interrupt us. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d demands a large security guard. A silence falls, for what feels like an eternity. \u201cJust wondering if I can apply for a job?\u201d Ryan asks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Either unconvinced, or unwilling to network, the guard ignores the request. He turns to mutter into a walkie talkie. Soon another sturdy looking bloke, nearly 2 metres tall, approaches. We take the hint and leave.<\/p>\n Crocodiles in the \u2018UK Pentagon\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n Next is the Ministry of Defence (MOD) at Abbey Wood. At 98 acres \u2014 roughly 50 football pitches \u2014 it is Britain\u2019s largest MoD site, earning it the nickname the \u201cUK\u2019s Pentagon.\u201d Prior to the pandemic, around 8500 people<\/a> worked at MOD Abbey Wood.\u00a0<\/p>\n When it opened in 1996, rumours suggested it held missiles and even crocodiles in the lake. What is verified is that this is the MoD\u2019s procurement arm, one of its clients is Israel<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2025, the MoD awarded a \u00a310 million contract to Pearson Engineering<\/a>, acquired in 2022 by Rafael, Israel\u2019s state-owned arms company. Rafael operates under the authority of Bezalel Smotrich, Israel\u2019s far-right finance minister, who was sanctioned by the UK government in 2025.<\/p>\n Warning signs line the perimeter, no photos, no entry. We take these as friendly suggestions rather than actual rules, and make our way to the entrance. That is, until we notice several guards at the checkpoints watching us. Not wanting to push our luck, we retreat.<\/p>\n As we leave, hundreds of workers begin filing out for their lunch break. I\u2019m struck by how ordinary they look. Some are dressed in suits, a few wear military hats, but most are in hoodies and jeans.\u00a0<\/p>\n As luck would have it, a few days later I ran into Paul, a Filton resident of over fifty years and former MoD cleaner. After a bit of probing, he admits there\u2019s really \u201cnot very much at all\u201d inside. No crocodiles, though the site does have its own hairdresser.\u00a0<\/p>\n He does worry about the building being bombed, \u201c\u2019cos I live on that same street.\u201d<\/p>\n Back on the main road, on the right hand lane of the dual carriageway, our next stop: BAE Systems, Europe\u2019s largest arms manufacturer. Security guards patrol the perimeter, ringed by particularly sharp looking razor wire. The whirr of heavy machinery fills the air.<\/p>\n Near the security gate, three young men head inside. Sally asks if they know what\u2019s being built inside. They pull up their hoods and quicken their pace.\u00a0<\/p>\n BAE produces the rear fuselage of the F-35 fighter jet, accounting for 13\u201315% of the total labour required for each aircraft. It employs 2,300 people across six locations in the South West, including two in Bristol.<\/p>\n The site itself is already massive, but the scaffolding towers and construction lorries show it\u2019s still expanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n Elbit, and a slow motion standoff\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Our next stop is the UK\u2019s main operational facility of Elbit Systems, a subsidiary of Israel\u2019s largest arms company. The building itself is unremarkable, but you can\u2019t help feeling unnerved as you approach.<\/p>\n This \u00a335 million manufacturing site made headlines when Palestine Action raided it in August 2024. The damage reportedly topped over \u00a31 million, sparking rumours of closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the site is very much active. As lorries exit the site, I can\u2019t help but wonder what they contain.<\/p>\n Elbit describes<\/a> their products as \u201cpropel[ing] warfare into an imaginative future\u201d and \u201cbattle tested.\u201d In practice, this means 85%<\/a> of Israel\u2019s killer drones and land-based military equipment are made by the company here \u2014and then deployed with deadly effect in Gaza.<\/p>\n Sally notes security has been \u201cbeefed up\u201d since their last visit. On cue, a guard tells us to stop taking photos, before taking out his own phone to film us.<\/p>\n The rain becomes heavy, and we decide to return to my car. Only to find two police officers waiting next to it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been called down here in relation to this vehicle scoping out another building,\u201d one of them explains. \u201cSo we are just trying to work out what the craic is.\u201d<\/p>\n Their car is parked in front of mine, blocking me in. Soon after, three more police cars arrive. Altogether there are eight officers and a dog unit \u2013 quite the operation.\u00a0<\/p>\n They check my licence. A ninth officer is called to confirm that everything is above board. It\u2019s hardly a high speed chase, but along with the rain it\u2019s incentive enough for us to move on.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018It doesn\u2019t bother me\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Allow me a small interlude from the walking tour.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some days later, photographer pitlad and I head to the local boozers to chat to local residents. We go to The Bull Dog, described affectionately by one Reddit commentator as: \u201crough as a badger\u2019s arse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The pub is\u2014of course\u2014named after a fighter jet from the interwar period, best known for being flown by Douglas Bader, an RAF pilot who lost both legs after crashing it doing some unauthorised aerobatics. Remarkably, Bader went on to serve in the Second World War and became something of a national hero.<\/p>\n A painting of the jet in its former glory hanging on a wooden sign. We\u2019re told workers from the base and nearby factories drink here.\u00a0<\/p>\n Our welcome is suspicious, but warm enough. A small crowd is gathered round the fruit machine, while a man plays pool against himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n We chat with Kev, a former construction worker who\u2019s lived in Filton for 59 years. \u201cThe area hasn\u2019t changed a great deal,\u201d he says. But adds that the construction of the MoD site in 1996, has \u201cbrought a lot of new people here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI know what some of these companies produce but it doesn\u2019t bother me,\u201d he adds.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Time to leave Filton<\/strong><\/p>\n As we continue the tour, a school bus waits in the Airbus car park. I\u2019m reminded of a previous article I wrote about arms companies courting schoolchildren under the guise of promoting STEM careers, conveniently glossing over their role in the arms trade.<\/p>\n Mercifully, the torrential rain has eased, and the sky is clearing as we head to our final stop: the Rheinmetall factory. Rheinmetall, a German arms company and the fifth largest in Europe, uses its Filton facility as its UK headquarters. Since 2023, the factory has held a \u00a310 million export licence<\/a> to send military support vehicles to Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cFucking hell,\u201d Ryan exclaims. Before us looms a giant, khaki-green army truck, taking up multiple parking spaces. These factories usually keep their products out of sight\u2014it\u2019s strange to see such a brazen display.\u00a0<\/p>\n As we approach the truck, not for the first time today, we have the feeling we are being watched. We turn to see a face peering from a van marked \u2018private dog security firm.\u2019 Just another reminder of the extreme lengths these businesses go to protect the military-industrial complex.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen enough. It\u2019s time to leave Filton.<\/p>\n Independent. Investigative. Indispensable.<\/p>\n Investigative journalism strengthens democracy \u2013 it\u2019s a necessity, not a luxury.<\/p>\n The Cable is Bristol\u2019s independent, investigative newsroom. Owned and steered by more than 2,600 members<\/b>, we produce award-winning journalism that digs deep into what\u2019s happening in Bristol.<\/p>\n We are on a mission to become sustainable, and to do that we need more members. <\/b>Will you help us get there?<\/b><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Filton_Map-1080x973.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/493A5105-1080x1350.jpg\")
Security guards watching our journalist. Credit: Pitlad. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/493A5086-1080x720.jpg\")
\u2018Prohibited place\u2019 sign outside the Ministry of Defence, Abbey Wood. Credit: Pitlad. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/493A5127-1080x720.jpg\")
Two regulars at the Bulldog pub, Filton. Credit: Pitlad. <\/p>\n