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Pro-Palestine protesters have claimed responsibility for breaking into RAF Brize Norton and damaging two military planes in a shocking breach of security.
Palestine Action said two of its activists infiltrated Britain’s largest RAF base and sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft before escaping without being caught.
Shocking footage shared by the group this morning shows protesters storming across the RAF runway in Oxfordshire on electric scooters.
The bodycam footage then shows them spraying red paint into the turbine engines of the air-to-air refuelling tankers which the RAF say are ‘vital for enhancing the operational reach and flexibility of Britain’s military air power’.
Palestine Action claim to have used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray the paint, while they say they caused further damage with crowbars.
The activists said they sprayed red paint across the runway and left a Palestine flag behind before fleeing the base undetected.
The alleged protest will raise huge questions over security at the RAF base at a time when the world is teetering on the brink with war raging in the Middle East and state threats from both Russia and Iran.
Brize Norton is the largest RAF base in the country with approximately 5,800 service members, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.
Palestine Action shared footage of two of its activists allegedly approaching the Voyager on electric scooters before damaging the engines with red paint
This is the moment red paint was allegedly sprayed into the turbine engines of the vital aircraft
Footage shows two protesters riding electric scooters across the runway at RAF Brize Norton
PIctured is an air-to-air refuelling and transport voyager from RAF Brize Norton tanking fighter jets. (File image)
File image of soldiers boarding an RAF Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton to take part in exercises to combat Russian aggression
Voyagers, described as a ‘petrol station in the sky’, can carry up to 109 tonnes of fuel and are used to refuel fighter and compatible heavy aircraft.
RAF Brize Norton hold a core fleet of nine voyagers, while five others are available for commercial use but can be recalled for military purposes.
The RAF is reportedly planning to send Voyager aircraft to the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.
One of the Voyagers, which has a Union Jack on its tail, has previously been used to transport prime ministers and Royal Family members to engagements abroad.
A Palestine Action spokesperson said: ‘Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets.
‘Britain isn’t just complicit, it’s an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.
‘By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people.’
MailOnline has contacted the Ministry of Defence and Thames Valley Police for comment.
