INDEX / DIRECTORY / BENTLEY / V-MIL

Bentley V-MIL

MILITARY AUDIT UPDATED 2026-05-18
V-MIL Score 5.47 /10 C Bentley — BDS-1000 403
V-MIL 5.47

Evidence-only forensic audit. Scoring happens downstream — see the main dossier for the composite assessment.

V-MIL Audit — Bentley (Bentley Systems, Inc. / Bentley Motors Limited / Bental Motion Systems)

Audit Phase: V-MIL Date: May 2026 Scope Note: Three distinct corporate entities share “Bentley” branding or phonetic proximity and require disambiguation throughout this audit: Bentley Systems, Incorporated (NASDAQ: BSY; US-headquartered infrastructure engineering software), Bentley Motors Limited (UK-headquartered luxury automotive manufacturer, subsidiary of Volkswagen Group), and Bental Motion Systems (Israeli electromechanical defence component manufacturer, headquartered in Merom Golan, Golan Heights). These entities have no common ownership, governance, or operational relationship. Findings are disaggregated throughout.

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

No public evidence has been identified of any direct contract, tender award, framework agreement, or memorandum of understanding between Bentley Systems and the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Israel Prison Service, or Israel Border Police.

Bentley Systems does hold direct US federal government contracts. Award W912DY24F0064, visible on USASpending.gov, documents a contract with the US Army Corps of Engineers1. Bentley is also listed on US government procurement vehicles through Carahsoft Technology as a channel reseller2. These instruments confirm Bentley software’s fitness-for-purpose in defence-adjacent infrastructure engineering contexts but are exclusively US government instruments with no identified Israeli defence nexus.

Bentley Systems does not appear in Israeli defence export directories (SIBAT/DECA), international defence exhibition catalogues, or IMOD press releases as a defence supplier or partner. No press releases or official announcements of a Bentley Systems–IMOD partnership were identified.

A prior AI research memo alleged that Malam Team — a Bentley channel partner in Israel3 — holds a multi-billion shekel contract to plan, construct, and operate the IDF’s new Intelligence Campus (“Kiryat Hamodi’in”) in the Negev, and a separate 25-year IDF logistics centre management contract involving IBM. The specific contract characterisations, values, and the claimed link to Bentley software deployment within those contracts were not independently verifiable from any publicly identifiable source. Malam Team is a large Israeli IT integrator with known government relationships, but the precise contract descriptions and the software nexus alleged in the prior memo exceed the verifiable public record. These specific claims are not carried forward as findings.

Malam Team is separately documented by the Who Profits Research Center4 and AFSC Investigate5 as a company involved in the Israeli occupation. These are findings about Malam Team as a legal entity, not attributable to Bentley Systems.

Bental Motion Systems

Bental Motion Systems is a direct procurement counterparty to the Israeli defence sector. Its corporate materials describe it as a manufacturer of motion control and electromechanical defence sub-systems supplying Israeli defence prime contractors67. Bental does not appear in publicly available records as a prime system contractor to IMOD in its own right; its procurement relationships are with Tier-1 Israeli primes who hold the underlying IMOD contracts (see Section 4).

A 2013 commercial press release documents a bilateral agreement between Bental Motion Systems and RIX Industries (USA) concerning cryogenic cooler technology8. This is a commercial technology-sharing arrangement between two companies, not a procurement contract from a government security body.

Bentley Motors Limited

No public evidence has been identified of any contract, tender, framework agreement, or MOU between Bentley Motors Limited and the IMOD, IDF, Israel Prison Service, or Israel Border Police. Bentley Motors operates in Israel through an official importer, Orchid Sports Cars, confirmed in a 2015 Globes report9. Orchid Sports Cars is a private luxury vehicle dealership. No fleet sales to Israeli government or security bodies are identified. Bentley Motors does not appear in Israeli defence procurement registries or SIBAT listings.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley Systems’ principal product lines — MicroStation (parametric CAD/BIM), ProjectWise (project delivery and document management), AssetWise (asset performance and reliability management), OpenRoads, OpenRail, and OpenFlows — are civil and infrastructure engineering software platforms10111213. They are designed, marketed, and sold as civilian infrastructure tools14151617.

These products are inherently dual-use in the broad definitional sense: the same software used to design civilian road, rail, water, and power infrastructure is functionally applicable to military base layout, checkpoint engineering, and strategic infrastructure mapping. No publicly available evidence has been identified, however, confirming that Bentley Systems has developed or marketed military-specification variants of any product to Israeli security forces, nor has any end-user certificate or export licence application for an Israeli military end-user been identified in available records.

Under the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR), most Bentley civil engineering tools are classified EAR99 and require no individual export licence for sales to Israel. Certain cloud and collaboration products incorporating encryption components — including ProjectWise cloud and the iTwin platform — carry ECCN 5D002 classifications, generally exportable to Israel under Licence Exception ENC. No denial orders, licence revocations, or export enforcement actions involving Bentley Systems and Israel are identified in public records.

No specific contractual mechanism by which Bentley Systems software was licensed to or procured by Israeli military or security bodies as a declared military end-user has been confirmed at the level of individual contracts. Indirect end-use through commercial integrators operating on government or quasi-governmental projects cannot be independently confirmed at contract level from available sources.

Bental Motion Systems

Bental explicitly designs and manufactures defence-grade products, with a dedicated defence product family documented on its public website7. Product categories include turret stabilisation and gun control drive systems, electric motors for armoured vehicles, alternators and starter-generators for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms, and cryogenic coolers for electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems78. These are purpose-built defence components, not civilian products repurposed for military application.

No separate export licence documentation for Bental’s exports to third-country customers is publicly available; Bental functions primarily as a domestic sub-system supplier to Israeli prime contractors.

Bentley Motors Limited

Bentley Motors does not manufacture or market tactical, ruggedised, military-specification, or armoured variants of any vehicle. Third-party aftermarket armoured derivatives of the Bentley Bentayga SUV are commercially available from companies including INKAS Armored Vehicles (Canada)18 and Alpine Armoring (USA)19. These are civilian VIP and executive protection vehicles produced by independent aftermarket converters; they are not tactical military platforms and are not the product of Bentley Motors. No evidence identifies armoured Bentley Bentayga vehicles in procurement by Israeli security forces; the IDF’s tactical wheeled vehicle fleet uses separate domestically sourced and international platforms20.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

Bentley Systems — Jerusalem Light Rail

The Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) connects West Jerusalem to residential areas in East Jerusalem including Pisgat Ze’ev and Neve Yaakov, both designated Israeli settlements under international law21. The legal status of settlement connectivity infrastructure is contested; multiple UN bodies have characterised Israeli settlement construction and supporting infrastructure in occupied East Jerusalem as contrary to international law21.

The Railway Technology project profile for the Jerusalem Light Rail documents the project’s engineering consortium and principal contractors22. Bentley’s OpenRail Designer (formerly InRail/Bentley Rail Track)17 and MicroStation1516 are established industry tools for the class of rail design work the JLR represents13. However, a prior AI memo’s specific claim — that a named contractor used Bentley MicroStation and OpenRail on the JLR project, as documented in an identifiable Bentley case study — was not independently verifiable from publicly accessible sources. That specific claim is not carried forward as a finding. No verified NGO or UN documentation specifically names Bentley Systems software in connection with the JLR’s construction or operation.

Bentley Systems — Water Infrastructure

Mekorot is Israel’s national water utility. Mekorot’s operations extend to water distribution management in the occupied West Bank, a dimension of its operations documented in water sector analysis23. Bentley’s OpenFlows product family, including WaterGEMS and WaterCAD, is marketed to national and municipal water utilities for network modelling and asset management1014. A prior AI memo claimed Mekorot is a confirmed Bentley OpenFlows customer. This claim was not independently verifiable from any publicly identifiable Bentley case study, customer reference, or third-party report. It is not carried forward as a finding.

Bentley Systems — Civil Infrastructure Product Positioning

Bentley Systems actively markets its software suite to rail and transit infrastructure developers13151617 and to water utilities1014. Its 2023 “Top 500” infrastructure report documents a broad global customer base across energy, transport, and utilities24. The company’s annual revenue reflects growing infrastructure software adoption across public and private sectors globally25. These are general commercial positioning facts; they do not establish specific relationships with Israeli state bodies in the absence of confirmed customer-level evidence.

Bental Motion Systems — Location in Occupied Territory

Bental Motion Systems is headquartered and conducts its manufacturing operations in Merom Golan, a kibbutz in the Golan Heights67. The Golan Heights has been under Israeli military administration since 1967, was unilaterally annexed by Israel under domestic law in 1981, and its annexation remains unrecognised by the United Nations and the large majority of states. The United States recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019. Bental’s industrial production is accordingly conducted from territory whose international legal status is disputed.

No documented reports were identified of Bental equipment being deployed in West Bank settlement construction or in construction of the separation barrier. Bental’s products are precision electromechanical defence components, not construction or earth-moving machinery.

Bentley Motors Limited

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Motors vehicles or related equipment being used in settlement construction, checkpoint or barrier construction, demolition activities, or detention facility construction in occupied territories.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

Bental Motion Systems — Verified Integration with Israeli Defence Primes

Bental Motion Systems is a documented sub-system supplier to Israel’s three principal defence prime contractors: Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems7. This is confirmed by Bental’s own published defence product family materials.

Elbit Systems holds confirmed IMOD contracts for Merkava tank family upgrades valued at an aggregate $210 million26 and for advanced aerial munitions systems valued at $260 million27. As a verified Tier-1/Tier-2 supplier to Elbit and IAI, Bental’s electromechanical components flow into platforms procured under these and related contracts. The specific financial value attributable to Bental’s component supply within those contracts is not publicly disclosed.

Specific component-to-platform attributions — including the Merkava Mk 4 and the Eitan APC — are consistent with Bental’s documented product categories (turret stabilisation drives; armoured vehicle electric motors)7, and both the Merkava28 and the Eitan are known IDF platforms with Elbit Systems integration. Bental’s own materials reference these product categories for armoured vehicle applications; precise platform-level attribution at the individual vehicle model level requires direct confirmation from Bental’s product literature or independent defence technical analysis and should be treated accordingly.

Bental’s supply of alternators and starter-generators for UAV power systems is confirmed both by its defence product page7 and by the technical context of the 2013 RIX Industries cryogenic cooler agreement8. The IDF operates a large and well-documented UAV fleet employed in both intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike roles.

Bentley Systems — Channel Partner Relationship with Malam Team

Malam Team is listed as a Bentley Systems channel partner for Israel3. Malam Team is documented by Who Profits4 and AFSC Investigate5 as a company with Israeli government IT contracts across multiple sectors. The channel partner relationship is a commercial software reseller arrangement. No document confirms which, if any, Bentley products are deployed under any specific Malam Team government contract, nor that Bentley software is in use in any IDF or IMOD installation via this channel. The relationship is a commercial licensing chain; it does not constitute evidence of Bentley Systems’ integration into Israeli defence prime supply chains at the sub-system or contract level.

Bentley Motors Limited

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Motors supplying components, assemblies, or sub-systems to any Israeli defence prime contractor.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Systems holding service contracts — for facilities management, catering, transport, fuel supply, telecommunications, or waste management — at IDF bases, military training installations, detention centres, or other Israeli security service facilities.

The prior AI memo constructed an inferential chain in which Malam Team’s alleged IDF logistics centre management role, combined with its Bentley channel partner status3, was presented as evidence that Bentley’s AssetWise platform12 may be deployed in IDF base operations. This is an unverified inference at each material step: Malam Team’s IDF logistics contract terms are not confirmed in available public records; the deployment of Bentley AssetWise specifically within any such contract is unconfirmed; and the Bentley channel partner listing does not itself constitute evidence of product deployment in any named project. No verified service contract link between Bentley Systems and IDF logistical infrastructure is identified.

Bental Motion Systems

No public evidence has been identified of Bental Motion Systems providing logistical sustainment services — as distinct from hardware component supply — to military installations. Bental’s business is electromechanical component manufacturing, not facilities services or base operations.

Bentley Motors Limited

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Motors vehicles being used in military transport, freight logistics, or port services for Israeli defence supply chains.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

Bental Motion Systems — Role in Lethal Platform Supply

Bental Motion Systems is a verified manufacturer of sub-systems integrated into IDF lethal and dual-use platforms67.

Bental is a Tier-2 or Tier-3 sub-system supplier; it is not a prime contractor for any complete lethal system and does not manufacture munitions, explosive ordnance, warheads, propellants, or missile systems.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Systems acting as a prime contractor or sub-system supplier for any lethal platform, munitions system, missile defence programme (Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow), combat aircraft, naval vessel, or main battle tank. Bentley Systems’ product domain is civil and infrastructure engineering software. Its software does not generate targeting decisions or weapons effects and does not meet the definitional threshold for direct weapons system involvement. The software’s inherent dual-use characteristics are documented in Sections 2 and 3 of this audit.

Bentley Motors Limited

No public evidence has been identified of Bentley Motors playing any role in Israeli munitions programmes, weapons systems development, strategic platform supply, or military vehicle procurement.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

Bentley Systems is incorporated in the United States and subject to the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The majority of its civil engineering software products carry an EAR99 classification, requiring no individual export licence for sales to Israel, which is not a proscribed destination under EAR or OFAC sanctions programmes. Cloud and collaboration products incorporating encryption (ProjectWise, iTwin platform) are classified under ECCN 5D002 and are generally exportable to Israel under Licence Exception ENC without individual licence review. No export denial orders, Denied Persons List entries, Entity List designations, licence revocations, or Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) enforcement actions involving Bentley Systems and Israel or Israeli end-users are identified in available public records. UK export control licensing data for Israel29 is not applicable to Bentley Systems, which is a US-incorporated entity and not a licensed UK military exporter.

Bental Motion Systems

Bental Motion Systems is incorporated in Israel. Its supply of electromechanical components to Israeli defence prime contractors is a domestic transaction not subject to foreign export control regimes. Any Bental exports to third-country customers — including the commercial technology arrangement with RIX Industries (USA) documented in 20138 — are subject to Israeli IMOD export approval via SIBAT and the Defence Export Controls Agency (DECA). No publicly identified export enforcement actions, export licence denials, DECA investigations, or international arms embargo compliance proceedings involving Bental Motion Systems have been identified in available public records.

Bentley Motors Limited

Bentley Motors Limited is a UK-incorporated manufacturer of civilian luxury vehicles subject to UK export control regulations administered by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) within the Department for Business and Trade. UK export control licensing data for Israel29 covers military and dual-use goods and services. Bentley Motors, as a manufacturer of non-military civilian passenger vehicles with no identified military variant in its product range, does not appear as a holder of Standard Individual Export Licences (SIEL) or Open Individual Export Licences (OIEL) for military goods destined for Israel in available public records. No enforcement actions, licence refusals, or judicial review proceedings involving Bentley Motors and Israeli defence supply have been identified.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

Bental Motion Systems

Bental Motion Systems’ headquarters and manufacturing operations are located in Merom Golan, occupied Golan Heights67. Companies operating industrial facilities in Israeli-occupied territories fall within the documented scope of monitoring by organisations including the Who Profits Research Center4 and AFSC Investigate5, though a dedicated Who Profits profile page specifically for Bental Motion Systems (separate from profiled entities such as Malam Team45) has not been independently confirmed in available sources.

Bental’s manufacturing of turret drives, armoured vehicle motors, UAV power systems, and EO/IR cryogenic coolers for IDF platforms78 places it within the scope of scrutiny by civil society organisations monitoring the Israeli defence industrial base. No specific NGO report from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, or AFSC dedicated to Bental Motion Systems has been identified in available sources. No organised boycott, divestment, or institutional exclusion campaign specifically targeting Bental Motion Systems was identified.

Bentley Systems, Incorporated

No dedicated NGO investigation, academic study, or UN report specifically examining Bentley Systems’ role in Israeli military or settlement infrastructure has been identified in available sources. The civil society documentation that exists concerns Malam Team45 — the Israeli IT integrator holding Bentley channel partner status3 — and addresses Malam Team’s own government contracts and activities; this documentation is not attributable to Bentley Systems as the software licensor. No organised boycott, divestment, or institutional exclusion campaign specifically targeting Bentley Systems in connection with Israel or the occupation was identified.

Bentley Motors Limited

No NGO investigation, academic study, or UN report specifically addressing Bentley Motors’ role in Israeli military or security supply has been identified. No boycott, divestment, or institutional exclusion campaign specifically targeting Bentley Motors in connection with Israel was identified. A prior AI memo referenced MAN Truck & Bus (Volkswagen Group) chassis as the basis for Israeli Border Police water cannon vehicles; this claim was not supported by the cited source20, which documents Plasan Re’em armoured vehicles procured by Israeli police — a different vehicle type from a different manufacturer. That specific claim is not carried forward. Bentley Motors is not implicated in any identified documentation of Israeli security force vehicle procurement.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_W912DY24F0064_9700_W912DY19A0002_9700 ↩

  2. https://www.carahsoft.com/bentley/contracts ↩

  3. https://www.bentley.com/channel-partners/1006862493-2/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/company/4217 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/malam-team ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  6. https://www.bental.co.il/about/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. https://www.bental.co.il/product_family/defense/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13

  8. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rix-industries-usa-and-bental-motion-systems-israel-forge-an-agreement-252051781.html ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  9. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-status-symbol-bentley-cars-go-on-sale-in-israel-1001259990 ↩

  10. https://www.bentley.com/software/openflows-water/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  11. https://www.bentley.com/software/projectwise/ ↩

  12. https://www.bentley.com/software/assetwise-reliability/ ↩ ↩2

  13. https://www.bentley.com/industries/transportation-rail-and-transit/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  14. https://www.bentley.com/industries/water/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. https://www.bentley.com/wp-content/uploads/ms-rail-transit-ebook-refresh.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. https://www.bentley.com/wp-content/uploads/cad-microstation-transportation-ebook-refresh-12.23.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  17. https://bentleysystems.service-now.com/community?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0102802 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  18. https://inkasarmored.com/armored-bentley-bentayga/ ↩

  19. https://www.alpineco.com/vehicles-we-armor/armored-bentley-bentayga ↩

  20. https://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/56581 ↩ ↩2

  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Light_Rail ↩ ↩2

  22. https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/jerusalem/ ↩

  23. https://www.globalwaterintel.com/articles/mekorot-development-and-enterprise-initiation-turns-israeli-water-knowhow-into-a-global-growth-engine ↩

  24. https://www.cio.com/article/191491/how-israel-secures-critical-infrastructure-its-water-supply.html ↩

  25. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/BSY/bentley-systems/revenue ↩

  26. https://www.elbitsystems.com/news/elbit-systems-awarded-contracts-aggregate-amount-210-million-israel-ministry-defense-tank ↩ ↩2

  27. https://mod.gov.il/en/press-releases/press-room/israel-mod-signs-260m-contract-with-elbit-systems-for-advanced-aerial-munitions-systems ↩

  28. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkava ↩ ↩2

  29. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/export-control-licensing-management-information-for-israel/israel-export-control-licensing-data-31-july-2025 ↩ ↩2