UK police searching for pro-Palestinian activists over RAF jet damage

Euronews

3 hours ago

Police in the United Kingdom are searching for suspects and the military is reviewing its security procedures after pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire and damaged two planes with red paint, officials said on Friday.
The group Palestine Action said two members entered RAF Brize Norton, some 110 kilometres west of London, on Wednesday and used electric scooters to approach the Voyager jets, which are used for air-to-air refuelling.
The duo sprayed red paint into the planes' turbine engines with repurposed fire extinguishers. They caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage appearing to show an individual approach a jet and spray paint into the engine.
The activists left the base without being detained, Palestine Action said.
The group said in a statement that "despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets."
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the incident, saying: "We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets."
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the vandalism "disgraceful" in a post on X.
Thames Valley Police said in a statement that it had "received a report of people gaining access to RAF Brize Norton and causing criminal damage."
Officers were working with staff at the base and military police to arrest the perpetrators, the force said.
The government said two planes were being checked for damage and that the vandalism had not stopped any planned aircraft movements or operations.
"A full security review is underway at Brize Norton," Starmer's office said. "We are reviewing security across the whole defence estate."
Planes from RAF Brize Norton regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain's main air base for operations in the Middle East.
The UK has sent more Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran conflict started a week ago for what Starmer called "contingency support."
Iran has threatened to attack US, French and British bases in the region if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes.
Despite recent efforts to boost European defence production, the bloc remains 'highly vulnerable' and heavily reliant on the United States—particularly for major, high-end defence equipment—according to a new analysis by the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel.
Trade statistics show that the value of weapons imported to Europe increased from approximately $3.4 billion for the period 2019–2021 to $8.5 billion for 2022–2024 across the 27 member states, with the US leading this increase despite concerns over its capabilities.
'Europe has the industrial production capacities to increase production of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,' said Guntramm Wolff, Bruegel's senior fellow, during the launch of the report Fit for war by 2030? on Friday morning.* 'What is more concerning is the more modern weapons systems, where we have limited capabilities,' he added.
Bruegel and Kiel Institute for the World Economy researchers have detected that the reliance on the US for certain defence and security domains is very high, including hypersonic missiles, next generation jets, AI integrated systems and intelligence services.
'There has been some increase in various systems—artillery in particular has grown substantially—but these increases are still relatively small compared to the overall demand,' Wolff said.
For example, the report notes that Europe held 1,627 main battle tanks in 2023, while projections suggest 2,359 to 2,920 will be needed in the coming years, depending on the scenario. As for air defence systems such as the Patriot and SAMP/T, stock levels in 2024 stood at 35 units—far below the 89 required.
'Major investments in research and development will be essential,' the authors advise EU policymakers and national governments, especially given Europe's lagging defence R&D compared to global competitors.
In 2023, Europe invested €13 billion in military R&D. By contrast, China invested €21 billion, while the US allocated a staggering $145 billion.
In March, the European Commission unveiled its rearmament initiative—now called Defence Readiness 2030—with a target of mobilising up to €800 billion to address the bloc's most critical defence shortfalls.
Meanwhile, NATO is expected to call on its 32 members to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2032—or potentially by 2035—a target Spain has already criticised as 'unreasonable'.
But simply increasing budgets won't solve the problem, the report warns.
'More military spending will not automatically and immediately translate into military capabilities, especially if the defence industrial base is already under strain,' the researchers argue. The real challenge, they stress, lies in converting funding into tangible capabilities through a coherent, forward-looking strategic and operational plan.
With the European defence market still highly fragmented, greater integration would improve cost-effectiveness. But alongside procurement reform, military planning must also be strengthened.
'This is really about rebuilding the ability to understand war through the lens of peer conflict—and that is just as much of a challenge as disbursing the money,' said Dr. Alexandr Burilkov, assistant director for research at the GLOBSEC GeoTech Center.
According to the researchers' estimates, even the proposed €800 billion may fall short—insufficient to cover the development of missile capabilities, procurement of tanks, artillery, and infantry fighting vehicles, modernisation of forces, and investment in air defence systems.