UK plans military aircraft support for wildfires ahead of first resilience summit
Fire services across the UK are set to be able to request RAF aircraft for difficult wildfires, alongside plans for specialist protective equipment and an AI unit.
The UK government plans to make military aircraft available to civilian fire services across all four nations to tackle wildfires in difficult terrain, BBC News reported on 22 October. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to set out the response at the UK's first wildfire resilience summit on Friday, 23 October, after a summer of severe fires.
Fire services would be able to request RAF Chinook helicopters and A400M aircraft for blazes on remote moorland, steep hillsides and other hard-to-reach ground, according to BBC News. The broadcaster reported that Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said it would be the first time those aircraft types were equipped to fight wildfires. The government has not specified when the support will become operational or how requests will be assessed.
Equipment for firefighters after a record fire season
The Guardian reported that Burnham will also announce £45m for fire crews to buy protective equipment designed for wildfires. More than half of the 29 fire services that responded to the newspaper's information requests had no wildfire-specific protective equipment. Standard particle-filtering respirators do not protect against gases such as carbon monoxide in wildfire smoke, while conventional protective clothing can be too hot and heavy for crews working on these fires, the Guardian reported.
England and Wales have recorded 1,350 wildfires so far in 2026, an all-time high according to National Fire Chiefs Council figures cited by BBC News. Earlier in October, MPs identified weaknesses in aerial support, water supplies and national coordination, the broadcaster reported. The summit is intended to address wildfire prevention, response and recovery.
AI unit and peatland restoration plans
A planned Wildfires AI Unit will sit in the National Situation Centre, which is part of the Cobra briefing rooms, according to the Guardian. The government says the unit is intended to help it spot and fight fires faster. BBC News reported that Met Office wildfire forecasts and an action plan for England are also due to be announced at the summit. Google, Airbus and VodafoneThree are expected to attend to discuss satellite monitoring and early warning systems, the Guardian reported.
The Guardian also reported a separate £25m plan to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they hold more water and act as natural firebreaks. That grant scheme is expected to run from April 2027 to April 2029, with financial support also planned for farmers to make their land more resilient to fires. The newspaper reported that earlier government plans to prepare the English countryside for wildfires had been scrapped.
Burnham said he had watched families lose everything in Stourbridge and that firefighters needed the equipment and aircraft support to face future fires. ‘We cannot put people through another summer like this one,’ he said, according to the Guardian.
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Sources and context
- UK to draft in military aircraft to fight wildfires, Burnham saysBBC News
- Burnham to reveal plans for AI unit to tackle wildfires after scorching summerThe Guardian
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