Raytheon sponsors the Girl Scouts of America. BAE Systems is reading your toddlers their favorite fairytale stories. And Lockheed Martin funds children’s math and STEM festivals. This is done with great fanfare, supposedly to empower and inspire children to pursue their passion for science. In reality, though, these companies are attempting to launder their images and enlist the next generation to become cogs in the military-industrial complex.
Meanwhile, the weapons produced by these firms are utilized globally by the United States and Israel to commit war crimes—in countries like Iran, Yemen, and Palestine—often striking children as victims.
MintPress investigates the shadowy realm where arms manufacturers educate children to wage war on other children.
Making War Seem Normal to Children
When many Americans hear the name Raytheon (now RTX Corporation), they might not immediately picture missiles or rockets; instead, math often comes to mind. For years, this world’s second-largest arms producer has backed numerous groups aimed at sparking children’s interest in STEM disciplines.
Since 2009, Raytheon has been the main sponsor of MATHCOUNTS, a nonprofit that offers engaging math curricula to middle schoolers nationwide, including competitive events to identify America’s top young mathematicians.
In 2005, Raytheon rolled out its MathMovesU initiative, tasked with, as stated, “inspire middle school students to get excited about math and science.” Alongside educational materials, it has injected millions into scholarships, grants, and awards supporting students, educators, and volunteers.
The MathAlive! traveling exhibit claims (albeit with somewhat dated branding) to bring math “2theXtreme.” MathAlive! has toured several West Asian nations such as Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, all major purchasers of Raytheon’s weaponry.
Raytheon also maintains a longstanding collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). For instance, in 2017, it helped launch GSUSA’s inaugural national computer science program and cyber challenge targeting middle and high school girls.
“The progress to diversify the STEM workforce needs to be accelerated… At a time when technology is transforming the way we live and work, we can – and should – show young women a clear path to taking an active role in this transformation,” said Thomas A. Kennedy, then-Raytheon CEO; “Working together, Raytheon and Girl Scouts will help girls build confidence to see themselves as the robotics engineers, data scientists and cybersecurity professionals who will create a better tomorrow.”
Raytheon also led the GSUSA’s “Think Like a Programmer” initiative, which motivates girls to delve into artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and created many programming badges offered to scouts.
The GSUSA highlights this partnership with pride, featuring a former scout now employed by Raytheon as a role model. That article provides a detailed guide and tips for girls who aspire to follow a similar path.
Unsurprisingly, Raytheon also collaborates closely with the U.S. military in these efforts, launching four new STEM “centers of innovation” in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America across Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., all strategically located near military installations.
Although some might find the close ties between a youth organization and an arms manufacturer surprising, it’s significant to recall that the scouting movement was originally founded by Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell to prepare boys for military service. Baden-Powell was concerned that British youth might lack the physical fitness required for warfare and designed scouting to develop their physical and mental readiness.
Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade criticized Raytheon’s image management and recruitment strategies. She told MintPress,
“Our view is that arms companies have no place in schools or colleges, and should certainly not be working with children’s educational charities. Schools and other places of education should be places where children learn, grow and develop their full potential. They should not be a recruiting ground where arms companies whitewash their activities.”
Lockheed Martin U
Raytheon is not alone in courting young Americans. Lockheed Martin organizes CYBERQUEST, an annual competition that motivates high school students to pursue careers in intelligence and cybersecurity. The 2026 iteration took place at 11 sites nationwide as well as through virtual platforms globally. The company also provides internships aimed at accelerating promising teens into defense-related careers, recruiting thousands each year and reporting that 60% of interns convert to paid roles.
Lockheed Martin also hosts “young minds at work” events where children engage in hands-on activities, such as bottle rocket experiments.
Universities serve as fertile recruiting grounds, with the firm investing heavily to attract top students. “Lockheed Martin Day” occurs on campuses where recruiters showcase virtual reality displays, flight simulators, and even land helicopters directly on the lawns to impress students.
The corporation has forged partnerships with leading academic institutions. For instance, a $1.5 million gift to the University of Texas at Arlington renamed a facility the Lockheed Martin Career Development Center.
The firm boasts an inclusive environment for women and LGBT people, frequently earning accolades for workplace inclusivity. One profile highlights Haley, a girl who dreamed of inventing as a child. “As a child,” the company notes, “Haley clung to a notebook where she sketched her ideas and inventions. On the cover she scribbled, ‘Haley’s Way to Make Life Better.’ Her best idea? A self-folding Christmas tree cleverly called ‘Merry, Bright and Boxed’ to make cleaning up after the holidays more efficient.” Now Haley works at Lockheed Martin as a missiles and fire control engineer, designing weapons that cause death worldwide.
Reaching Even Toddlers
Boeing has similarly launched several initiatives targeting young children. Their “Engineering is Elementary” program focuses on pre-K through middle school students, aiming to direct kids toward STEM careers relevant to arms production. A Boeing spokesperson explained,
“Engineering is Elementary provides teachers and students a greater understanding of engineering, and it accomplishes that in a fun, interactive way. Our goal is to interest students in engineering at an early age and increase the number of scientists and engineers.”
The aerospace manufacturer BAE Systems has gone further still. This UK-based firm, which constructs jet fighters, missiles, artillery, and naval vessels, created a series of unusual videos in which both company workers and British Armed Forces personnel read classic fairytales such as Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel to young children. These videos were supplemented with worksheets crafted to develop problem-solving skills in very young learners.
Reading bedtime stories to toddlers is only part of BAE Systems’ broader campaign to, in their own words, “improve our corporate reputation at both a local and national level.” Other efforts include school roadshows, robotics festivals, science camps, and community outreach programs, all targeting children. During the COVID-19 crisis, BAE also supplied schools with branded educational materials for children as young as five.
Kirsten Bayes expressed strong disapproval of these tactics:
“BAE Systems claims to spend up to £100m [U.S.$134m] yearly on educational projects. They assert these efforts are community-focused, but we see this as a recruitment tactic: aiming to influence youth without revealing the true nature and implications of arms companies.”
Fairytales vs. Real Nightmares
Despite how these companies try to position themselves as purely scientific organizations, their core business is manufacturing weaponry that enables the U.S. to enforce global dominance.
In just the last year, the United States has conducted airstrikes in seven nations: Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Firms like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin supply the hardware making such widespread violence possible.
For instance, on February 28, the U.S. struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ School in Minab, Iran. A Tomahawk cruise missile—a highly accurate guided weapon—was fired from a nearby warship, demolishing the school building. A second missile then targeted the school’s courtyard, where survivors were gathering.
The timing was calculated for maximum impact: 10:45 a.m. during school hours. At least 156 people lost their lives, primarily students at a school that had no military function and was not near any military target. Over 100 others were wounded.
The attack was swiftly condemned as a grave war crime. Yet, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns, later remarking, “The only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians who think they’re going to live.”
The Tomahawk missile is manufactured by Raytheon, and components used in this strike were produced by a BAE Systems subsidiary.
Washington leverages its dominance in arms sales to support its allies’ regimes. Saudi Arabia ranks as the largest U.S. arms purchaser, buying sophisticated weaponry worth hundreds of billions, which it uses in Yemen and to suppress internal dissent.
Riyadh has waged a genocidal campaign targeting Yemen’s civilian infrastructure including agriculture, water, and sewage systems, resulting in massive civilian casualties. In August 2018, a 227 kg (500 lb) laser-guided bomb dropped on a school bus in Dhahyan, northern Yemen, killed 40 children. Fragments recovered at the scene confirmed the bomb was made by Lockheed Martin. Such attacks are tragically common in Saudi Arabia’s campaign to oust Ansar Allah.
While Saudi Arabia is Washington’s biggest client, Israel represents its chief military aid beneficiary. A Brown University study found the U.S. spent $21.7 billion in military assistance to Israel in the two years following the October 7, 2023 attack, including aircraft, missiles, and small arms munitions.
Israel has used these weapons to systematically target children in Gaza and beyond. At least 97% of schools in the crowded strip have suffered attacks. A notable incident occurred on July 27, 2024, when the Khadija Girls’ School in Deir al-Balah was hit. A Human Rights Watch report documented that Israel dropped at least two Boeing-manufactured GBU-39 bombs on the school.
Consequently, while arms companies tell fairytales to Western children, countless others must endure genuine nightmares due to these firms’ activities.
Regardless of whether they live in the U.S. or under its occupation, children everywhere are caught up in these companies’ agendas—albeit in contrasting ways. Within America, corporations like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing inject resources into underfunded education systems under the guise of empowering youth, especially girls, to pursue science, but their real aim is to polish their image as purveyors of death and train future members of the U.S. war machine.
On the opposite side of the conflict, children face no such illusions, living under the persistent threat of becoming these company’s next casualties. This darker reality is precisely what firms like Raytheon seek to obscure through millions spent promoting empowerment narratives and discovery stories. We inhabit a world where weapons manufacturers are training children to bomb children.
Original article: www.mintpressnews.com
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