• Last night, activists from the group Block Lockheed sprayed signs and poured fake blood on the Ampthill site entry way.
  • They say they are doing so in action against Lockheed Martin’s role in the murder of civilians and environmental damage across the world

Block Lockeed activists spray “WMD” and “Stop War”  on the signs of the 64 acre site; that produces weapons that have been used against civilians in wars and invasions around the world.

In 2005, the Ampthill site boasted about making BL755 Cluster Bombs; 450kg bombs that contain 147 bomblets.

used in the US invasion of Iraq, Falklands War, Lebanon, Albania, Croatia, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Bombs were “removed from service” but the UK still had 3,650 in 2007.

In 2011 Lockheed Martin and the MoD signed a £642 million contract for L.M. to upgrade Warrior Tanks with CT40 Cannon Turrets and improved armour, for the British Army. These were produced at the Ampthill site. 

In 2014 LM signed a $1bn contract with General Dynamics to deliver 245 turrets for Ajax Tanks. Made at the Ampthill site and then sold to MoD. Trials of the Ajax tanks were stopped in November 2020 due to extreme levels of vibration and noise causing the test crews swollen joints, tinnitus, and nausea. In 2019 The MoD forecasted the Ajax Tanks had a three-year delay and cost growth of approximately £227 million, of tax-payers money.

As recently as December 2021, there is evidence of Lockheed Martin supplying weapons to the Israeli military. This is part of a decades-long dirty handshake involving weapons such as F-35 fighter aircraft. These are the same aircraft reported to have been used against civilians in Lebanon, The West Bank, and Gaza. Human Rights Watch reported the deaths of some 1000 Lebanese civilians were directly due to indiscriminate Israeli use of arms including those produced by Lockheed Martin. In Palestine, the same source concludes Israeli policies “rob the more than two million Palestinians of Gaza of their right to freedom of movement, severely limit their access to electricity, health care, and water, and have devastated the economy.” This is a clear result of the use of Lockheed Martin Weaponry. 15% of every Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightening II is manufactured in the UK.

Block Lockheed are calling on anyone who is outraged by the fact that this murderous company profits off of the suffering of millions, to join the campaign and our fight against Lockheed Martin.