Britain's air bases, Gaza and the Brize Norton case
Topic
10 investigations.
AirTanker & PFI
The RAF's tankers belong to AirTanker under a £10.5bn private finance deal, and its basic fast-jet trainers to a joint venture of KBR and Elbit Systems.
UK–Israel military links
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.
UK–Israel military links
Flight records show ZZ338 and ZZ343 were flying from RAF Akrotiri in the weeks before the June 2025 protest. The MoD has not explained the records for ZZ343.
UK–Israel military links
Flight records place both Voyagers damaged in June 2025 at Akrotiri during UK strikes on Yemen in 2024. Declassified UK and the government give different reasons for the strikes.
UK–Israel military links
Parts repaired at MOD Sealand go into a shared pool that supplies Israel's F-35s, and F-35 parts were exempt from a 2024 licence suspension. RAF trainers are owned by a venture that includes Elbit.
Surveillance flights
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.
UK–Israel military links
The government admitted nine Israeli Air Force visits to Brize Norton in February 2024. Records show at least nine more between September 2024 and June 2025.
Comparisons
Seven official statements on the Brize Norton protest and the RAF's Voyager tankers, checked against flight records, Freedom of Information requests and parliamentary records.
Explainers
Palestine Action claimed RAF Voyagers refuel Israeli jets. The refuelling equipment does not match, and the better-documented links to Israel's campaign lie elsewhere.
UK–Israel military links
Flight records, parliamentary answers and published reporting link RAF Brize Norton to Israel's military campaign through Akrotiri, RAF spy flights over Gaza and Israeli planes on the base.
