UK prepares military aircraft support for wildfire response amid record summer season

The UK government is preparing to make military aircraft available to civilian fire services as part of a wider response to the country's record summer wildfire season. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to set out the plan at the first wildfire resilience summit, which the government says will focus on prevention, response and recovery. The measures are intended for use on difficult ground such as remote moorland and steep hillsides, where crews have struggled to get air support.

Under the plan, fire services in all four nations will be able to request Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft if needed. The government said this would be the first time these aircraft have been equipped to tackle wildfires in this way. Burnham said the changes were needed because the country could not be put through another summer like this one, while Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the move marked a new step in wildfire response.

The announcement comes after 1,350 wildfires in England and Wales this year, which the National Fire Chiefs Council said was an all-time high. That figure is more than 300 higher than last year and more than 1,000 above 2024, according to the council. The government also said it would spend £45m on wildfire-specific protective equipment for firefighters, describing the new kit as lighter than current gear designed for building fires.

The policy shift reflects growing concern about the scale and frequency of wildfires in the UK. The Climate Change Committee has warned that wildfire risk is expected to rise in the coming decades, adding pressure on emergency planners and land managers. Records for reported wildfires were also broken in 2022 and 2025, suggesting the problem has been building over several summers rather than emerging in a single season.

Alongside the aircraft support, ministers are planning a £25m scheme from April 2027 to April 2029 to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they can act as natural firebreaks. The government also said it would consider financial support for farmers to fireproof their land, including by digging ponds. A briefing ahead of the summit said officials would look at tougher local restrictions or product bans to reduce the chance of fires being started when the risk is high.

Burnham is expected to meet fire chiefs, local leaders and experts from technology companies at the summit. Chinook crews have already practised dropping water from firefighting buckets in Portland harbour, and RAF crews have previously helped respond to wildfires in Cyprus. What remains unclear is how quickly the new aircraft support can be deployed in a domestic emergency and how often fire services will request it once the system is in place.

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