RAF spy flights over Gaza: what we know about 590 Shadow R1 missions from Akrotiri
RAF Shadow R1 surveillance planes flew from Akrotiri over or near Gaza from December 2023 to July 2025. The government says the flights only look for hostages.
Key points
- RAF 14 Squadron's Shadow R1 flights over or near Gaza ran from 3 December 2023 to 25 July 2025.
- The counts differ: at least 518 flights to 27 March 2025 from Declassified UK and AOAV, 606 in AOAV's later total, and 590 in total from independent flight-tracking analysis.
- Each flight lasted five to six hours. The government has refused to say what intelligence was gathered or who it was shared with.
- A Shadow R1 landed in Israel for two hours on 13 February 2024, according to Declassified UK.
Declassified UK and Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) counted at least 518 flights over or near Gaza by Royal Air Force (RAF) Shadow R1 surveillance planes up to 27 March 2025.
Independent flight-tracking analysis puts the total at 590, with the last flight on 25 July 2025. AOAV's later total is 606. The reporting does not say why AOAV's figure differs from the flight-tracking count.
#What are the RAF Shadow R1 flights?
The Shadow R1 is a surveillance aircraft flown by 14 Squadron of the RAF from RAF Akrotiri, in Cyprus. Akrotiri is Britain's main base for operations in the Middle East. The first Shadow R1 was recorded there on 25 October 2023, and the surveillance flights over Gaza began on 3 December 2023. Each flight lasted five to six hours.
Declassified UK reported that the spy plane remained active in Cyprus after the Gaza mission ended.
#How many flights were there?
The counts come from different sources and do not match.
| Figure | Who produced it | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| At least 518 | Declassified UK and AOAV | Flights over or near Gaza, 3 December 2023 to 27 March 2025 |
| 606 | AOAV, as reported by Declassified UK | AOAV's later total; the period is not stated |
| 520, 571 and 590 | Independent flight-tracking analysis of callsigns RFR7143 to RFR7145 | 520 to 27 March 2025; 571 before the protest at RAF Brize Norton on 20 June 2025; 590 in total, the last on 25 July 2025 |
The flight-tracking analysis confirms the early count, finding 520 Gaza flights by 27 March 2025. On its figures, 51 more flights were flown between that date and the protest, bringing the total before 20 June 2025 to 571. Declassified UK's earlier reporting, from 2024, had put the number of missions at 200.
The reporting cited here does not explain why AOAV's later total of 606 differs from the 590 found by flight tracking.
Show the data
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| AOAV / Declassified UK, to 27 Mar 2025 | 518 | |
| Flight-tracking analysis, to 27 Mar 2025 | 520 | |
| Flight-tracking analysis, before the protest (20 Jun 2025) | 571 | |
| Flight-tracking analysis, total (last flight 25 Jul 2025) | 590 | |
| AOAV later total | 606 |
#What do the flight records show?
On 13 February 2024, a Shadow R1 landed in Israel for two hours, according to Declassified UK. Separately, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed in a parliamentary answer that the RAF flew 32 flights from Akrotiri to Israel in the seven weeks after 7 October 2023.
On 1 April 2024, a UK surveillance flight was airborne when Israel killed three British aid workers. The reporting does not say the aircraft played any role in those deaths; it shows only that a UK surveillance flight was in the air that day.
#What has the government said about the flights?
The MoD says the surveillance flights are "solely to locate hostages", and a minister told Parliament on 19 June 2025 that they were only to find hostages. The government has refused to say what intelligence the flights gathered or who it was shared with.
#Why do the flights matter?
The flights were run from a base that is linked to Israel's campaign in other ways. Planes regularly fly between RAF Brize Norton and Akrotiri, and Israeli Air Force planes repeatedly used Brize Norton during the war. Flight tracking records 421 Voyager flights between Brize Norton and Akrotiri, and 524 local Voyager sorties from Akrotiri, between 7 October 2023 and the protest. The data cannot show what those sorties were for, and some may have supported UK operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Local sorties rose from 5 to 39 a month in 2024 to 54 to 61 a month in March to May 2025.
The chain of support between the two bases covers those links.
The flights ran during the period in which Amnesty International concluded on 5 December 2024 that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reached the same conclusion on 16 September 2025. This site's position is that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and the RAF's role at Akrotiri should be judged against that finding.
Questions and answers
What are the RAF Shadow R1 flights over Gaza?
RAF 14 Squadron flew Shadow R1 surveillance planes from Akrotiri in Cyprus. Flight tracking shows the last Gaza flight on 25 July 2025.
How many RAF surveillance flights were there over Gaza?
Estimates range from 518 to 606. Declassified UK and AOAV counted at least 518 to 27 March 2025, flight-tracking analysis counts 590 in total, and AOAV's later total is 606.
What has the government said about the flights?
The Ministry of Defence says the flights are 'solely to locate hostages'. It has refused to say what intelligence they gathered or who received it.
