Two aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were damaged on Wednesday by members of the group Palestine Action, who claim the attack was aimed at disrupting what they describe as the UK’s support for Israeli military operations in Gaza and broader Western military activity in the Middle East.

According to the group, two activists entered the airbase—Britain’s largest—and used electric scooters to approach two RAF Voyager aircraft. They sprayed red paint, said to symbolise Palestinian blood, into the planes’ engines using repurposed fire extinguishers, and reportedly used crowbars to inflict further damage. Red paint was also spread across the runway. The activists involved managed to evade immediate arrest.

RAF Brize Norton serves as the hub for UK strategic air transport and aerial refuelling, including flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The Cypriot base has been used to launch RAF surveillance and support missions related to conflicts in the Middle East, including operations concerning Gaza, Syria, and Yemen.

In a statement, Palestine Action said: “By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people,” the statement continued.

The group referenced the use of RAF Voyagers for in-air refuelling of UK, US, and Israeli military aircraft. However, recent flight tracking suggests that the RAF missions involve support for Operation Shader — the UK’s ongoing counter-Daesh (ISIS) operation in Iraq and Syria — and are unrelated to Israeli military actions.

The group claimed the aircraft were involved in operations supporting Israeli military action in Gaza, but defence sources dismissed this as “totally inaccurate.” RAF Voyagers based at Brize Norton are primarily used to support Operation Shader, the UK’s ongoing mission against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. An RAF source familiar with current deployments said: “This attack was utterly pointless. The aircraft targeted are not used in support of Israeli forces. The UK operates independently and Israel has no requirement for British tankers — they operate their own fleet. The claims made by the group show a complete misunderstanding of how RAF operations work.”

Palestine Action’s actions drew swift criticism online, with concerns raised about security breaches at a major British military installation and the potential consequences of damaging operational aircraft.

A Ministry of Defence Spokesperson said:

“We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets. We are working closely with the police who are investigating. Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain. They put their lives on the line for us, and their display of duty, dedication and selfless personal sacrifice are an inspiration to us all. It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.”

Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois said:

“After the recent tragic loss of the Air India 787, any attempt to interfere with the engines of a large aircraft, particularly one which might ferry troops and their families, or be involved in vital air-to-air refuelling missions, is totally reprehensible.

There are also serious questions for the MoD to answer about how ‘protesters’ – who might even have turned out to be armed terrorists – were able to gain access to what is supposed to be a secure RAF airbase.”

Image via Palestine Action

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

63 COMMENTS

    • Exactly! Who is sleeping on the job letting these buggers in?! How did they even get onto the base? Someone needs to seriously lift their game! Anyone watching security screens or too busy watching the football on their phones? Station commander needs a bollocking.

  2. Don’t worry ‘lessons will be learned’ over this major security breach! This was two numptys on electric scooters FFS🤬 where was MOD plod and the Rock Apes?

    • Buck stops with CO
      But they have probably done us a favour
      Beefed up security at all MOD bases
      Deployment of RAF Regiment to patrol round the clock ALL active RAF bases home and overseas
      And for god sake dispersal of assets you can’t have all operation transport aircraft at the same base

    • Lessons shouldn’t need to be learned though really should they? Security of our assets should be paramount-its not like we have many. Cuts or no cuts this is a joke and sends all the wrong signals out .This could have been so.much worse, and someone’s arse be on the line this morning. .My main ‘concern’ is that others think this is now a valid target and gets hurt attempting it- I assume these guards have live ammo.?

      • Christ can you imagine the shit storm and how much crap would be dumped on the poor sod who actually did the right thing!
        These misguided idiots have put their heads up on social media so it shouldn’t be to difficult to find the perpetrators or who supports them and they should be charged as domestic terrorists!

    • I’m not sure that either are based there beyond a RAF Reg Flight.
      Base security is I think MPGS and the RAF Police.
      What a shambles.
      These b******** are the enemy within and need the book thrown at them.
      Heavily.

  4. These individuals should be charged under the treason act, they have undertaken acts of sabotage against the defences of the UK damaged and removed from Commission strategic assets and weakened our defences during a time of high international tensions as well as strengthened the view of Russia and china that we a western power are weak against political warfare. They are probably idealistic idiot young people but sadly for the good of the state they need very long prison sentences and their organisation needs proscribing as an enemy none state actor.

    • That’s if our world leading security forces can actually find the culprits.
      To say this is embarrassing is an understatement but it does shine a light on how complacent and ill prepared this country actually is.
      I am sure lessons will be learnt blah blah blah from this pathetic episode where youngsters on e-scooters evaded capture on the UK’s largest airbase to damage multi million pound aircraft.
      We might laugh at the Russians but currently are we much better.

    • They should be forced to pay for the repairs too. Heads should roll in MoD police… at a time of very high threat a couple on scooters got at vital equipment. There should be guards with big guns watching over such assets.

  5. Mohamed Starmer will put you in jail if you criticize these peaceful activists, especially if they’re Arabs.

        • Nope, definitely the stupidest.

          🤦🏻‍♂️ Starmer isn’t a Muslim sympathiser, his wife is Jewish FFS
          🤦🏻‍♂️ He supported Sunik using the UK military to defend Israel early last-year, and RAF Typhoons were airborne to repeat it last October.
          🤦🏻‍♂️ The prime minister cannot jail people, we have separation of powers.
          🤦🏻‍♂️ Why would a ‘Mohammed’ Starmer been keen to jail Arabs? The statement is self-contradictory.
          🤦🏻‍♂️ Crowbar wielding activists ‘peaceful’… really? 😂

          Thanks for the 🥈stupidest post today. 😆

          • You are pretty delusional if you cannot see how pro Muslim the British state is. Your way of life has been irrevocably changed to accommodate what is for now a noisy and expansionist religious group. Freedom of expression has been wound back and you now have a blasphemy law. A blind eye is turned to Muslim depradations across your country. Labour continues to import more voters by the boat load. There is no obvious upside to importing these people. Starmer is the latest progressive to betray your country.

          • Surely he is implying ‘Mohamed Starmer’would be keen to jail anyone who critisies this action especially if they (the perpetrators) are Arabs ? That’s how I read it anyway. Hopefully he is incorrect in his assumption and Starmer tracks these individuals down and prosecutes them with the same fervour he has shown when dealing with other criminality recently.

  6. They should have been shot on entry really. You can’t play soft here, Ukraine has proved that in Russia. Just what the hell were security doing?

  7. Hopefully a wake up call on base (in)security.

    It doesn’t surprise me as when, officially, on various sites I’d often observe that the base boundaries were hedges.

    One officer joked his kids school’s perimeter security was better..

  9. Outrageous

    We need new treason laws to deal with these idiots.

    MI5 should be investigating this activist group, this is far beyond peaceful protest.

  10. Heads should roll,
    • they should never have been able to break into the base without it being detected
    • they should never have been able to escape afterwards

    The organisation they belong to should now be designated a terrorist organisation, with its members rounded up and held for interrogation. Prosecute all those who were involved with it knew of this either before or after the incident as accomplices.
    Fines should cover the costs of repairs plus all investigation and prosecution costs. Plus time in prison for them to reflect on their stupidity.

    • Crazy isn’t it? We have armed police at every civilian airport doing roving patrols etc and at a major strategic airbase we have sod all! As Spock has said people need to be fired over this,but will they don’t hold your breath.

  13. Unless there are existential career consequences for the people responsible for security at MOD sites this mediocrity will just continue. You need secure perimeter fencing. You need monitoring of your fencing. You need sufficient Guards to patrol the perimeter and guard key installations. You need a suitably mob-handed QRF to respond to incidents. You also need regular exercises to test defences to judge its effectiveness and also identify vulnerabilities.

    If you cant understand this or you cant provision this then don’t bother turning up for work and we’ll save some money on a wasted salary.

    Right now I’d bin the head of station security and the station commander just for the value of creating a morality tale for other station commanders so that they can get their heads in the game.

    If the issue is funding then the Civil Servant who is making the decision not to fund the necessary protection of critical sites can also be removed from office too because they also are a liability.

    The MOD and RAF are really going to need to try a lot harder because this is just embarrassing for the entire country.

    • Good call. There’s no telling who these lot have been infiltrated by and what foreign intelligence services can influence their thinking. Wouldn’t surprise me if thr FSB had provided their hi-tec 6 gen e-scooters that must have been equipped with invisibility cloaks to get past security.

  14. We bang on about getting GBAD to defend the bases but all it requires is a couple of e-bikes, a hammer and some spray and that’s us done, you cannot make this up.

  15. This country never ceases to amaze me…
    What message does this send to our enemies?;
    Don’t bother investing in military hardware, air defence missiles or long range weapons… just buy a plane ticket to the UK (or a free inflatable taxi service across the channel if you’re looking to save money), once you’ve done that, simply walk into a military base with a cheap crowbar and inflict all the damage you like!
    No one will stop you honest! We’d be seen as racist if we tried to stop you! So come on in!
    Oh wait… you’re already here in your tens of thousands unchecked, unopposed, living for free and running grooming gangs taking what you want?
    Damn… It’s a good job no one’s coordinating you all
    What happened to this country’s spine? It’s teeth? Dare I say it’s identity? It’s pride in itself?

    • We have had a couple of generations where our self selecting political class have produced MP’s who are more akin to the candidates from Week 1 of the Apprentice rather than wise and rational born leaders of men. We get poor outcomes because of poor decisions made by poor decision makers and no fast method of applying consequences to those who behave incompetently.
      We have a Police Service that prefers Social Media moderation to stopping crime, an immigration system that is configured to the desires of immigration lawyers and armed services too weak to even defend themselves. I wont even mention the management, structure and performance of the Holy NHS.
      This only stops when there are consequences for failure. Our politicians may be too stupid or ideologically constipated to innately make the right decisions.
      What we need is too invent systems that force consequences of failure onto them. Maybe external audits of Departmental Performance with career ending consequences for those politicians who deliver bad outcomes. Fear is a great motivating factor to improve performance.

  16. Where were the dogs and their handlers.
    It used to be common place to see signs around “certain” bases, saying “War Dogs on Patrol”.
    During my occasional visits to RAF stations, I often saw RAF personnel walking around with dogs. Has this been abandoned.

    • No. The RAF Police, MDP, and a small number of MPGS have Dogs, but they’re not everywhere.
      This place should be one of the critical ones where you’d thunk they’d be though.

      • Daniele, yes as our “main logistics airbase”, the security should be second to none. Whilst most “fighter” stations probably store aircraft overnight in the HAS, it has always been the case that “transport” aircraft sat on the pan, unless undergoing maintenance in the hanger. Should have definitely been 24/7 patrols within 500 yards of these aircraft.

        • Oh, I agree totally.
          Heads should roll.
          Lessons should be learned.
          And we know NONE of us will believe a flipping word at what HMG, the MoD, or the RAF claim in response.
          This country needs to give itself a major head wobble, but I fear it would be too scared of offending somebody if it did, and too many of the population wouod actually support this sort of action.
          Getting over a fence is one thing ( some places you’re not even doing that ) but to get beyond into inner areas is unbelievable.

  17. I bet neither of them are are Palestine, or ever been there or even any part of the Middle East, likely white student types with rich parents. Nice to see how well guarded planes are, joke security has made the RAF look stupid, again. RAF Regiment what top force that is not.

    • As always, part of the enemy within.
      Tolerated by the establishment as you cannot infringe on their rights.

  18. Were the RAF military police and RAF regiment all down at the bar getting smashed?
    Someone needs to be dismissed immediately. Fragrant breach of base security at one of the UKs primary and few remaining frontline airfields.
    I think the message from the defence secretary needs to be very very clear. We are in a time when this type of an attack could have been prosecuted by an enemy state’s trained operatives. What then? They could have run smoke destroying the RAF tanker and transport fleet seemingly.

    The military police and RAF regiment need to get a grip. Seriously. Reflects very very badly on the entire RAF and their vigilance and awareness of the heightened state of threat.
    Oh well also need GBAD sorting out asap as it could easily have been a truck load of FPV drones controlled by AI and with explosive payloads

    • Hate to say it but its this does not come as a surprise with their track record for security over the years at home and abroad including operational area’s. Dont want them to actually do anything that may upset them. Crap really. RN has more security on Ships even in home ports. Disgraceful. A couple bods wandering the pans armed would have dealt with it easily. About time to give the RAF back from where hence it came, Army and RN.

      • Whilst RN security isn’t perfect an armed sentry on the gangway sends a clear message.

        RN perimeter security always was at a different level to RAF.

        Hard to understand given how few bases RAF now have.

  19. Two serious issues here, firstly the security issue, or lack of it (but its a big base and easy to actually enter over a fence) but the second and more importantly at this time, is the fact these misinformed clowns have damaged 2 essential assets during a time where tensions are increasing and everyone’s safety is a little secure around the globe. Find them and for gods sake make an example of them and bang them up for a decent amount of time! But alas they will get away with it with some dog shit excuse with a dog shit excuse of a lawyer.

    • Exactly.
      Big perimeter is common. Get over a typical MoD outer fence, possible.
      But then not detected when penetrating into operational areas deeper within, that is a big problem.
      I assumed, maybe wrongly that places like this had motion sensors and cameras.
      The MoD Police have contacted like everything else these last 20 years, but I don’t think they are even present at Brize, and other RAF Stations.
      They tend to have a MPGS Det and RAF Police.
      Most Army have MPGS Dets.
      MDP are at RN, and other sensitive MoD sites like munitions, storage, nuclear, and USVF locations and some civvy CNI.
      Anyway, a total shambles mate.

  20. So civilians can wander into one of the UK’s key airbases and damage aircraft.

    But you know……war footing guys!!!

    Joke country.

  24. This is domestic terrorism on behalf of a state actor, it’s time MI5 went after these people and the entire weight of the law must be thrown at them multi decade jail sentences should be applied. The RAF needs to do some serious sole searching as well.

    It’s focusing on anti drone swarms and missile defences while a bunch of nut jobs on e scooters climb the fence and take out two strategic assets.

    The voyager fleet is now moving to Prestwick, how are they going to keep it safe.

  25. Where the F@@k are the RAF regiment? They should have been standing guard on every aircraft in a combat zone and opened fire.

  26. Thought George had commented that the Voyagers had been relocated to Prestwick due to resurfacing of Brize Norton runway
    So were these 2 unservicable and awaiting maintenance?

    has reported on other attacks No proper justice here I fear as these radicals/terrorists seem like the same lot attacking BAE Systems building ASW frigates fof the North Atlantic and other defence sites and I think they got away with criminal damage in Glasgow – Scot-free (no pun intended) Please correct me if I am wrong George has written on UKDJ regarding these previous attacks
    Starmer is more afraid of Labour’s left wing including the Corbynistas and others that I can not name as this might be seen as a criminal offence but their questions in the House of Commons and views shared in the media are revealing

  27. I don’t know which part of this story makes me rage more, the actions of these do-gooder activists or the failure in security around these assets.
    These activists need to be prosecuted under terrorism laws and that includes the people who run/fund these organisations.
    Any aircraft stored outdoors should have a physical security presence around it. Building sites have better security these days with their security “robots”
    At minimum these should be placed around outdoor aircraft to alert a rapid response unit.

  28. This is seriously worrying, and indicative of how vulnerable we have made UK forces as a result of not properly vetting immigrants to the UK who have more loyalty to other countries than our own.

    In the event of a full scale war, there would undoubtedly be many similar attacks being conducted by UK residents using commercially available drones etc.

    Israel has shown how effective such attacks can be in recent weeks.

    Base security needs to be upped immediately, and maybe more restrictions should be placed on drone availability, given how easily they can be turned into remote weapons.

    Not only military target security, but major infrastructure is also vulnerable to drone attack, such as electricity substations. Things that have previously been guarded by tall fences and barbed wire can now easily be reached by drones.

  29. MOD Plod and the Rock Apes having a day off? Utterly shameful that they were allowed to plan, execute and escape.

    There will of course be a “lessons learned” statement and press release with 20 quotes from 20 nobodies saying the usual horse shit “our renewed funding demonstrates our unparalleled ability to protect….” yadda yadda, but the damage has been done. I have often worried about the ability of non-state actors to attack military sites with drones, but it appears all you need is a bike and determination to get in?

    I’m less angry about the damage and the actions of the activists and more angry and concerned about base security. They should have been met with dogs, arrest and bullets, in whatever order the reader seems fit.

    • Yes your 100% right on the money, dog patrols 24/7 on such a site with armed guards too. KISS securiity measures as such would have more than been able to deal with it. And yes the Rock Apes (says it all) should have been patrolling the fence lines but as has been stated they would all be in the bar. Hope the cost of repairs will be coming out of the RAF budget and the CO on the mat with cap in hand.

  30. If, as we are being told, runway maintenance is being carried out, might we not also assume that there are contractors and plant on-site in some quantity. And that, presumambly, ‘normal operations’ are more or less suspended? Blokes in hi-vis all over the place, earth-movers, graders, dump-truck et el. moving back and forth etc. In short ‘their guard was down’, ‘cos nothing was happening? And come 5:30pm, we can all go home?

  32. We ave just seen Ukraine pull off a sophisticate and clever drone raid on Russian airbases resulting in 12 or so aircraft destroyed, but that took 18 months to prepare. Meanwhile 2 idiots with scooters are sufficient to penetrate defences at a major UK airbase. Does the RAF not even look at what is going on in the world?

  33. Apparently security breaches at Brize are not uncommon. They used to have persistent thefts of copper cabling from (within the perimeter) one of the old Hercules hangers.

    Can you imagine the utter shower that you are if pikeys don’t fear you but see you as easy victims?

    We need a thinking moment here. If you have a position of responsibility within the armed forces where the nation expects you to deliver and you cant because it’s too hard or you’re too frit to rock the boat then I suggest you pack it all in and go do something less challenging instead.

    If on the other hand you want to do your job properly (say protecting the main operating base of all our country’s transport aircraft) but you’re unable to because Air Vice Marshal Ritz-Carlton would rather spend the money on golf clubs then I suggest the “squeaky wheel” approach of office politics. Quite simply you broadcast out as many emails as possible about your concern, making the resource blockers future career vulnerable and putting them firmly into the crosshairs of any future enquiry. This will force the resourcing requirement further and further up the chain of command until resources are provided or you’ll discover someone brave or stupid enough to reject the funding and accept the risk.
    We need service people to step up and do their jobs their tasked with doing. If your duty is to guard a critical military installation and you don’t have sufficient resources to do so then it’s unacceptable for you to simply accept it. You have to go out there, kick over some tables and make noise. You’ll honestly feel better for it. Otherwise you risk another public incident and your career is in danger of ending very, very abruptly.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

By submitting this comment, you agree to the storage and handling of your data by this website in accordance with our Privacy Policy.