Military aircraft to help get UK 'on front foot' to fight wildfires, Burnham says

Andy Burnham said military aircraft will be used to tackle wildfires as he tries to ensure the UK is "on the front foot" following a summer of devastating blazes.

Civilian fire services in all four nations will be able to request the support of the Royal Air Force's Chinook helicopters and A400M planes to fight wildfires on tough terrain such as remote moorland and steep hillsides.

As he hosted the UK's first summit on wildfires, the prime minister outlined initial steps to "improve our response" after the country "lived through a summer that we've never seen before".

Burnham said this also includes better equipment for firefighters and improved land management to stop fires from spreading.

After a record-breaking summer, the government's "wildfire resilience summit" in Liverpool on Friday discussed how to prevent, respond to and recover from such blazes.

There have been 1,350 wildfires in England and Wales this year, an all-time high and up by more than 300 on last year and more than 1,000 on 2024, according to figures from the National Fire Chiefs Council.

Records for the number of reported wildfires were also broken in 2022 and 2025 - but the UK's Climate Change Committee has warned the risk will rise in the coming decades.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said this was the first time the RAF's Chinooks and the four-engine A400Ms were being equipped to tackle wildfires. Some areas struggled with no air assistance in the summer.

RAF Chinook crews have already helped respond to wildfires in Cyprus.

In addition to military aircraft, the government said it would also spend £45m on wildfire-specific personal protective equipment for firefighters on the ground.

It is lighter than current firefighting equipment which is designed for fires in buildings and not meant to be worn for a long time, the government added.

Ministers are also pledging a £25m scheme from April 2027 to April 2029 to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they are natural firebreaks, and financial support for farmers to fireproof their land such as by digging ponds.

"The government will also look at tougher local restrictions or product bans to stop people starting fires when the risk is high," a briefing ahead of the summit said, following a temporary ban on disposable BBQs.

Burnham met fire chiefs, local leaders and experts from tech companies at the summit, also attended by Communities Secretary Angela Rayner.

He said: "I think too often in the past we've been playing catch up, and today is trying about trying to get on the front foot and recognise that the summer we've just had is likely to be a more regular situation going forward.

"So make ourselves that bit stronger when it comes to the summer of 2027, and then indeed summers beyond."

Burnham earlier told reporters that fire and rescue services were "stretched" this summer and firefighters had worked in "extremely difficult conditions" before committing to providing better equipment.

On aerial support, the PM said: "We may see on holiday other countries where there are planes putting water from above on the fires. We believe we need that capability.

"The Ministry of Defence will be equipping aircraft with that capability, so we'll be better prepared for summers to come."

Burnham also recalled visiting Stourbridge in August and how "we saw homes lost in a heartbeat".

Earlier this month, MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said there were weaknesses in the UK's wildfire preparedness, including access to aerial firefighting resources, securing water supplies during major incidents and coordinating resources at a national level.

MPs said the current system for obtaining aerial firefighting support was "no longer fit for purpose".

A further announcement at the summit included a "Wildfires AI Unit" to combine universities, tech firms and officials on the Cobra emergency committee, along with Met Office wildfire forecasts and closer work with devolved governments.

In August, the government convened a Cobra meeting before sending an emergency alert to millions of phones across England and Wales - which sparked a backlash from some.

Summer 2026 was the UK's hottest on record, according to the Met Office. In a study on how this summer was impacted by human-induced climate change, it said the heat experienced was made 130 times more likely.

Major incidents were declared for wildfires this year in areas such as Dunwich Heath and RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk, the Cairngorms, Hampshire and Holme Fen in Cambridgeshire.

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