RAF aerial firefighting kit to be ready for 2027 wildfire season

The Royal Air Force’s new aerial firefighting capability will be available to support the 2027 wildfire season, defence ministers have confirmed, while declining to say how many of the A400M Atlas kits are being bought. The answers, given to Parliament on Monday, 2 November, put the first firm date on the airborne cover promised after October’s wildfire summit.

What did ministers confirm?

Answering four written questions from Ben Obese-Jecty MP, defence minister Luke Pollard said: “The Royal Air Force is procuring an initial containerised aerial firefighting capability for the A400M Atlas aircraft to enhance the UK’s ability to respond to significant wildfire incidents. The capability will be available to support the 2027 wildfire season and represents an important first step towards establishing a sovereign military aerial firefighting capability within the UK.”

The questions asked directly how many of the roll-on, roll-off kits would be purchased and whether crews would be trained before July 2027. The identical answers gave no number and no training timetable, saying only that the capability is “initial”.

How is aerial firefighting covered today?

In a separate answer, Florence Eshalomi of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed that aerial assets are currently provided “through private contractors on a call-when-needed basis”, and that “the Department therefore does not hold a central estimate of the number of Bambi Buckets available for wildfire response”. The Government announced at the wildfire summit that it will establish a nationally coordinated aerial firefighting capability, she said, with the operational detail being worked through with the Ministry of Defence, the National Fire Chiefs Council and other partners.

Why does it matter on the moors?

More than 1,300 wildfire incidents had been recorded across England by the end of August, in the worst fire year on record, and keepers’ fogging units, fire breaks and local knowledge remain the first line of defence on most upland ground. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has demanded an aerial firefighting plan by January 2027 and a Government response to its wildfire report by 21 December, while the cross-government Wildfire Action Plan itself is promised only “in the coming months”.

What happens next

The EFRA deadlines come first: the response to the committee’s wildfire report is due before Christmas, the aerial plan by January, and the RAF’s kits, in whatever number, must be flying and crewed before the ground dries out again in spring 2027.