Military aircraft to be equipped to fight wildfires, government says

Military aircraft will be equipped to help tackle wildfires, the UK government has announced, after a summer of "unrelenting" blazes and sustained hot conditions. 

Ahead of the first wildfire resilience summit in England today, Downing Street has announced a series of measures to assist frontline firefighters and help make landscapes more resilient to wildfires.

The plans include equipping the RAF's Chinook helicopters and A400M planes to fight fires and help crews battle blazes in hard-to-reach areas, providing the first military aerial firefighting capability based permanently in the UK.

It comes in a year that has seen record heat across Europe help kill more than 50,000 people, a new study has found, with nearly two-thirds of those blamed on human-caused climate change.

According to figures from the National Fire Chiefs Council, there have been 1,132 wildfires in England and Wales this year - up by more than 300 from 2025.

More than a dozen homes were destroyed after a wildfire ripped through an area of Stourbridge in the West Midlands in August, while major blazes also broke out in places such as Dunwich Heath in Suffolk and parts of the New Forest in Hampshire.

The incidents occurred during what the Met Office said was the hottest summer on record, which included five separate heatwaves and an emergency alert being sent to people's mobile phones across England and Wales in August, warning of a very high national wildfire risk.

'I will never forget it'

Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who will meet with fire chiefs, local leaders and experts at the summit, said new measures were needed because "we cannot put people through another summer like this one".

Mr Burnham added: "I stood in Stourbridge and watched families lose everything.

"I will never forget it. Our firefighters were heroes that day, but heroes shouldn't have to fight with one hand tied behind their backs."

In addition to military aircraft, the government said it would provide frontline firefighters with wildfire-specific protective equipment, which is lighter and more breathable than the current kit designed for tackling fires in buildings.

It also said preventative measures would be put in place, such as restoring dried-out peatlands to act as natural firebreaks, and offering financial support for farmers to dig ponds and remove burnable materials in high-risk areas.

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The government said it would also look at "tougher restrictions or product bans to stop starting fires when the risk is high".

Other measures include an AI unit to spot and fight fires faster, and improved wildfire forecasts to help raise public awareness.

Housing and communities secretary Angela Rayner described the wildfires this summer as "unrelenting", but insisted the government was working to "build a stronger, more resilient national response to wildfires for the future".

Earlier this week, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committee released a report warning that wildfires are "part of our new reality" as climate change increases their frequency and severity.

Meanwhile, a study in an upcoming issue of Nature Health found that more than 50,000 people in Europe had died this summer from heat - a record high.

Researchers modeled heat-related deaths for different age groups in 854 European cities during repeated heat waves in June, July and August and found that 50,391 people died from warmer temperatures, and of those, 32,619 died because of the extra heat caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas, the study in an upcoming issue of Nature Health said.

Belgium, France and Spain have all experienced devastating wildfires this year, with thousands of people being forced to temporarily evacuate their homes.

(c) Sky News 2026: Military aircraft to be equipped to fight wildfires, government says