Irish state-backed Analog Devices International is sending parts from its Limerick factory to the Israel Defense Forces' largest weapons supplier.
IDA Ireland awarded Analog Devices International an €85 million grant last year – about €50,000 for each person it employs in Ireland.
The Irish-American company – whose microchips were recently found in Russian weapons used to attack Ukraine – shipped these parts from Ireland to Elbit Systems' electronic warfare division in Israel as recently as two months ago.
The Ditch reported earlier this year that Analog Devices was supplying Israel's Elbit Systems with components made at its Philippines plant.
‘Supplying products for military applications since 1972’
Analog Devices International UC – based in Limerick’s Raheen Industrial Estate – shipped components to Israel on 16 September this year,
The company shipped the parts, believed to be microchips, to the Elbit Systems-owned Elisra, according to records obtained by The Ditch.
Elbit Systems supplies the Israel Defense Forces with 80 percent of its weapons, including electronic warfare systems made by Elisra.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin presented company CEO Vincent T Roche with an SFI St Patrick’s Day Science Medal in 2021, highlighting how his “contributions have made immense societal and economic impact and changed the lives of millions of people”.
The Irish-American company has been “supplying products for military and space applications since 1972”, according to its website.
Analog Devices microchips were recently found in Russian weapons used to attack Ukraine, leading a company executive to testify before the US Senate and a report that found the company’s export controls were “abjectly lacking”.
Russia – through intermediaries in third countries – imported $326 million worth of Analog Devices components in 2023, according to researchers at the Kyiv School of Economics. It is not known if any of these goods were manufactured at the firm’s facility in Limerick.
Analog Devices has partnered with the University of Limerick and Stripe on an undergraduate computer science programme. "Software engineers enjoy incredible careers solving some of the world’s most important problems,” said Stripe co-founder John Collison on the programme's launch.
Analog Devices International declined to comment.
