Press release
Authorities look the other way, thousands of dead worldwide bear witness. Federal government sides with war deliveries.
On January 26, 2026, lawyer Dr. Astrid Wagner, on behalf of four organizations, filed a complaint with the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. For years, the management of BRP ROTAX in Gunskirchen (Upper Austria) knowingly sold engines via intermediaries to arms companies such as General Atomics, Elbit Systems, and IAI. These engines were then installed in armed combat drones and used in wars to kill thousands of people. Drone killings of thousands of civilians, women, and children in Pakistan, Ukraine, and especially in the Gaza Strip were carried out with Austrian engines.
According to the law (War Material Control Act), engines for “military aircraft” are considered war material, and their export requires approval from the Ministry of the Interior. Such approval was never granted and would, moreover, be unlawful. The complaining organizations—”ARGE for Conscientious Objection and Nonviolence” (“ARGE f. Wehrdienstverweigerung u. Gewaltfreiheit”), “Palestinian Community of Austria” (“Palästinensische Gemeinde Österreich”), “Solidarity Workshop Linz” (“Solidarwerkstatt Linz”), and “Styrian Peace Platform” (“Steirische Friedensplattform”) —refer in their complaint to the War Material Act, as ROTAX engines were explicitly adapted for combat drones by IAI. Exports used to kill civilians of one’s own population (Gaza!) are also strictly prohibited under the Foreign Trade Act.
However, Austria’s government ignores violations of the law and breaches of neutrality. On January 14, 2026, Economics Minister Hattmannsdorfer demonstratively visited the BRP ROTAX plant and announced on January 26, 2026, that the government intends to amend the Foreign Trade Act to facilitate arms exports, including through reduced controls. Since the Noricum scandal, Austrian politics have apparently learned nothing. Enrichment through war exports is immoral and destroys Austria’s neutrality.
Text of the legal complaint to the public prosecutor
1. Suspicious legal entities and natural persons
BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG is based at Rotaxstrasse 1, 4623 Gunskirchen.
The company is an Austrian subsidiary of BRP Inc. The company manufactures
and exports engines for civilian and military drones, among other things.
The persons listed in ./1 are currently members of the company’s executive board.
Appendix ./1:
2. Facts of the Case
2.1. The management of BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG is accountable for the fact that engines produced by the company for drones have also been supplied – even if via intermediaries – to third countries, such as Israel, which are involved in acute armed conflicts.
In a response to a parliamentary inquiry, the Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that no export license for Rotax engines to Israel has been issued in the last 10 years. However, upon inquiry, the company BRP-Rotax GmbH confirmed that its engines were originally installed in Hermes 900 type drones.
The Hermes 900 is a highly advanced, unmanned aerial vehicle with a length of eight meters and a wingspan of 15 meters. It has been produced since 2009 and is in service in several hundred units.
According to research by journalist Reinhard Löw and the weekly newspaper “Falter,” as well as analyses by Israeli researcher Dr. Shir Hever, Hermes 900 type drones (codenamed “Kochav”) produced by the Israeli defense conglomerate Elbit Systems are being used in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. These drones are very likely powered by engines from the Upper Austrian company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG.
In response to an inquiry by the weekly newspaper “Falter,” the corporate headquarters of BRP-Rotax in Canada stated that the delivery of engines to the Israeli defense company Elbit was discontinued in 2024. This was done citing the corporate-internal “Military Sales Policy,” which prohibits engine exports to countries involved in military conflicts.
Thus, the corporation indirectly confirms that deliveries to Elbit Systems had taken place previously.
2.2. The drone engines constitute “engines” for military aircraft within the meaning of § 1 III b) of the War Material Ordinance.
Due to the lack of an application and the lack of an export license from the Ministry of the Interior, there is suspicion that the company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG exported or had exported war material without the required license. This offense is punishable by law under § 7 of the War Material Act (KMATG).
2.3. Should one, however, be of the opinion that the engines of BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG represent “dual-use” goods and not war material, then § 18 of the Foreign Trade Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz – AWG) in conjunction with §§ 6, 7, 8, and 11 AWG would apply.
In this case, there is suspicion that the company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, contrary to a prohibition in the Foreign Trade Act, exported or had exported goods to third countries – either itself or through intermediaries – without the corresponding license. This would be punishable by law under § 79 of the Foreign Trade Act.
2.4. Austria declared its “permanent neutrality” in the Neutrality Act. As a consequence, the legislature regulated the prohibited support of parties to armed conflicts in § 320 Para. 1 of the Criminal Code (StGB). According to this, anyone who exports combat equipment from the country in violation of existing regulations is liable to prosecution.
2.5. Further grounds for suspicion of criminal acts within the meaning of points 2.2. – 2.4:
2.5.1. In February 2013, the newspaper “Die Presse” reported that all Predator combat drones (“General Atomics MQ-1B”) built by the defense conglomerate “General Atomics” in California are powered by an Upper Austrian “ROTAX 914” engine. Both the US Air Force and the CIA intelligence agency have been using these drones in warfare to this day.
2.5.2. On October 9, 2020, the newspaper “Der Standard” reported on the use of ROTAX engines in Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drones during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Targeted drone killings occurred not only in the mentioned Caucasus war but also by Turkey, whose drones attempted to liquidate Syrian militias and PKK forces in northern Iraq.
The company ROTAX emphasized, as in the case of the Predator engines, that it does not make “direct” deliveries to drone manufacturers and has no contractual agreements with them. The engines are distributed through a worldwide distributor network.
2.5.3. On October 20, 2022, a few months after the invasion of Russian troops into eastern Ukraine, “Der Standard” cited Ukrainian sources, according to which large explosive-laden Iranian drones powered by Upper Austrian ROTAX engines were crashing in Ukraine.
Ukrainian photos of an Iranian drone that crashed into the Black Sea near Odessa clearly showed the “ROTAX-912” engine from Upper Austria.
The other war party, namely Ukraine, is likely using ROTAX engines to equip manned ultralight aircraft of the “Aeroprakt A-22” type. For wartime use, Ukraine converted these aircraft into unmanned, explosive-laden drones. In April 2024, an A-22 flew unmanned for 800 km to a Russian drone factory, and in April 2025, an A-22 accidentally destroyed a Russian residential building in Rostov-on-Don, both quite certainly with an Austrian engine.
The Ukrainian long-range drone “Ukrjet UJ-22 Airborne” with a 4.2-meter wingspan, which can transport a large warhead or several bombs up to 800 kilometers, is also powered by a ROTAX engine from Gunskirchen. Among other targets, Moscow has been attacked with these “UJ-22” combat drones.
2.5.4. On August, 11th 2025 a specialist journal for defense topics reported that BRP ROTAX had specifically adapted its engine for the requirements of a newly developed military drone named “Heron MK2” by the Israeli defense conglomerate IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries). This proves that there is direct cooperation between BRP ROTAX and a defense conglomerate of a country at war. The “Heron MK2” can stay airborne for 45 hours and can, among other things, combat submarines.
3. Corporate Liability
According to § 3 of the Association Responsibility Act (Verbandsverantwortlichkeitsgesetz – VbVG), BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG is liable for criminal offenses committed by a decision-maker or a senior employee.
4. Jurisdiction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA):
This jurisdiction arises from § 20a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung – StPO). The present criminal case is of particular significance and complexity. Since constitutionally mandated neutrality is implicated, this constitutes a criminal matter of transregional importance.
Evidence:
Presse Februar 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20240622181909/https://www.diepresse.com/1347071/motoren-aus-oesterreich-fuer-den-drohnenkrieg-der-usa
Standard 9.10.2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20210122225257/https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000120601430/oesterreichische-motoren-fuer-den-drohnenkrieg-in-bergkarabach?ref=article
Standard 20.10.2022: https://web.archive.org/web/20221020115842/https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000140151202/wie-kommen-oesterreichische-motoren-in-die-drohnen-dieauf-die
Defence Network 11.8.2025: https://defence-network.com/heron-mk2-im-japanischen-testbetrieb/
Parlamentarische Anfragen zu Rotax:
Anfrage an den Wirtschaftsminister https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/J/3335/imfname_1712128.pdf
Response from the Minister of Economic Affairs https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/AB/2867/imfname_1725078.pdf
Request to the Minister of Interior https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/J/3333/imfname_1712119.pdf
Response from the Minister of Interior
https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/AB/2873/imfname_1725121.pdf
Request to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/J/3332/imfname_1712113.pdf
Answer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
https://www.parlament.gv.at/dokument/XXVIII/AB/2880/imfname_1725139.pdf
5. Applications
The Public Prosecutor’s Office to which this is addressed is requested to examine whether the facts presented fulfill the elements of the criminal offenses specified in §§ 7 of the War Material Act (KMATG), 79 of the Foreign Trade Act (AußWG), and 320 of the Criminal Code (StGB) and whether, therefore, criminal proceedings should be initiated against senior decision-makers or employees of BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG or against the company itself.
Vienna, January 26, 2026
SariDa/Rotax / AW/SE / Submission to the Public Prosecutor’s Office
