The weeks before Brize Norton: what Britain's military planes were doing in May and June 2025
A dated timeline of the RAF Voyager tankers, surveillance flights and Israeli military flights at Brize Norton and Akrotiri in the weeks before the 20 June 2025 protest.
Key points
- ZZ343 flew at least 12 local sorties from RAF Akrotiri between 22 May and 15 June 2025, then landed at Brize Norton at 13:57 on 19 June.
- Local Voyager sorties from Akrotiri rose to 54–61 a month in March–May 2025, up from 5–39 a month in 2024.
- An Israeli Air Force Re'em plane was on the ground at Brize Norton for over 13 hours on 9 June 2025, eleven days before the protest.
- After war broke out between Israel and Iran in mid-June 2025, the UK sent extra Voyager tankers and Typhoon jets to Cyprus.
An Israeli Air Force Re'em refuelling plane was on the ground at Brize Norton for over 13 hours on 9 June 2025, eleven days before the protest. The flight data shows where planes were and when. It cannot show what each sortie was for.
| Date | What the record shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March–May 2025 | Local Voyager sorties from Akrotiri rise to 54–61 a month, up from 5–39 a month in 2024 | Flightradar24 flight histories |
| 29 April 2025 | RAF Typhoons join a US strike on a Houthi drone factory in Yemen. The MoD says the jets were refuelled in flight by Voyager tankers. Voyager ZZ333 leaves Akrotiri at 19:03 and lands at 01:03. Neither damaged plane is involved | Ministry of Defence statement; flight tracking |
| 20 May–15 June 2025 | ZZ343 is at Akrotiri, flying at least 12 local sorties between 22 May and 15 June | Flightradar24 flight histories |
| 9 June 2025 | An Israeli Air Force Re'em refuelling plane is on the ground at Brize Norton for over 13 hours | Drop Site News |
| 10–18 June 2025 | ZZ338 is at Akrotiri | Flightradar24 flight histories |
| 13 June 2025 | War breaks out between Israel and Iran. ZZ338 flies a local sortie from Akrotiri that day | Flightradar24 flight histories |
| Mid-June 2025 | The UK sends extra Voyager tankers and Typhoon jets to Cyprus | Press Trust of India |
| 19 June 2025 | A minister tells Parliament the surveillance flights over Gaza are only to find hostages | UK Parliament |
| 19 June 2025, 13:57 | ZZ343 lands at Brize Norton from Akrotiri. ZZ338 flies a tanker sortie from Brize Norton the same day | Flightradar24; MoD statement via Declassified UK |
| 20 June 2025 | The protest at RAF Brize Norton | Al Jazeera |
#What the Voyagers were doing in the spring
Local Voyager sorties from Akrotiri rose to 54–61 a month in March–May 2025, from 5–39 a month in 2024. Some of these sorties may have supported UK operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
On 29 April 2025, RAF Typhoons joined a US strike on a Houthi drone factory about 15 miles south of Sanaa. The MoD confirmed the jets were refuelled in flight by Voyager tankers, and that the strike was carried out after dark. The record here does not show Voyagers refuelling Israeli fighter jets. See the refuelling question.
#ZZ343 and ZZ338 before the protest
ZZ343 was at Akrotiri from 20 May to 15 June, with at least 12 local sorties between 22 May and 15 June. It then flew to Brize Norton, landing at 13:57 on 19 June. The MoD told Declassified UK the plane was undergoing routine maintenance and was not in regular service. Maintenance may have started on landing. The MoD has not explained the flight pattern.
ZZ338 was at Akrotiri from 10 to 18 June and flew a local sortie on 13 June, the day the war between Israel and Iran began. On 19 June it flew a tanker sortie from Brize Norton. See the flight records.
#The Israeli plane at Brize Norton
The Re'em is a Boeing 707 the Israeli Air Force uses for air-to-air refuelling. Drop Site News reports that some planes of this kind went on to refuel Israeli fighter jets bombing Gaza. The claim is not confirmed in the record here. See Israeli planes at Brize Norton.
#The surveillance flights and the war
The UK sent extra Voyager tankers and Typhoon jets to Cyprus after the war began, according to the Press Trust of India. On 19 June, a minister told Parliament that the surveillance flights over Gaza were only to find hostages. The government has refused to say what intelligence those flights gathered. The same day, ZZ343 landed at Brize Norton. See the surveillance flights.
The events that followed, including the Home Secretary's announcement of a ban on Palestine Action on 23 June and the first charges in early July 2025, are covered in the case timeline.
Questions and answers
What were the damaged Voyager tankers doing before the Brize Norton protest?
Flight tracking shows ZZ338 and ZZ343 operating from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus in the weeks before the protest. ZZ343 landed back at Brize Norton at 13:57 on 19 June 2025, the day before the protest.
Did RAF Voyagers refuel Israeli fighter jets?
The claim is contested, and the record here does not support it. Research cited for this site says RAF Voyagers use probe-and-drogue refuelling, while Israel's main fighter jets can only be refuelled by boom.
What is RAF Akrotiri?
RAF Akrotiri, in Cyprus, is Britain's main base for operations in the Middle East. Planes from RAF Brize Norton regularly fly there.
Sources
- Statement on air strike against Houthi military facility in Yemen
- Why have Israeli military aircraft been landing at a UK air base?
- Israeli Air Force aircraft landing at RAF Brize Norton under Labour
- Pro-Palestinian activists break into UK military base
- Flightradar24 flight histories
- Press Trust of India (PTI)
- UK Parliament (Hansard), June 2025
