The British government will make Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters and A400M transport aircraft available to fight wildfires across the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to announce at the country's first wildfire resilience summit on Friday. Civilian fire services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to request military air support for blazes on difficult terrain such as remote moorland and steep hillsides.
The decision comes after a record-breaking summer in which 1,350 wildfires were recorded in England and Wales alone, an all-time high that exceeds last year's total by more than 300 and the 2024 figure by over 1,000, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council. Previous records were also broken in 2022 and 2025, and the Climate Change Committee has warned that the risk will continue to rise in the coming decades.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed this marks the first time the RAF's Chinooks and four-engine A400Ms are being equipped specifically for wildfire response. Chinook crews have already practised water bucket operations in Portland Harbour and assisted with wildfires in Cyprus. Some regions struggled without any aerial assistance during the summer just passed.
Beyond military assets, the government pledged £45 million for wildfire-specific personal protective equipment that is lighter than standard structural firefighting gear and designed for prolonged wear. A further £25 million scheme, running from April 2027 to April 2029, will restore dried-out peatlands in England to act as natural firebreaks, while financial support will help farmers fireproof their land through measures such as digging ponds.
Ministers also signalled they would examine tougher local restrictions or product bans to prevent fires starting when risk is high, building on a temporary ban on disposable barbecues. At the summit, a new "Wildfires AI Unit" will be unveiled, bringing together universities, technology firms and officials from the Cobra emergency committee alongside Met Office forecasts and closer coordination with devolved governments.
Burnham, who visited Stourbridge in August after a wildfire destroyed 19 homes in the West Midlands, said the measures were necessary because "we cannot put people through another summer like this one." He praised firefighters as heroes but argued they should not have to fight "with one hand tied behind their backs." Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle added that the summer's blazes demonstrated the urgent need to adapt to a changing climate, noting that nature remains the greatest ally in prevention.
The Met Office confirmed summer 2026 was the UK's hottest on record, with a study finding the extreme heat was made 130 times more likely by human-induced climate change. Major incidents were declared at locations including Dunwich Heath and RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, the Cairngorms, Hampshire and Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire. Earlier this month, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee warned that the current system for obtaining aerial firefighting support was "no longer fit for purpose," citing weaknesses in water supply security and national resource coordination.
