The aircraft, which has been used by the US military in Iraq, is “designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions,” The Times reported.
The British military has hired US contractors using American aircraft “to carry out secret spying missions” over Gaza for Israel, looking for Israeli captives, due to a shortage of RAF aircraft, according to The Times.
“A ‘schoolboy’ error meant that the flight path of the US aircraft, registered as N6147U and used on behalf of the UK government, was made publicly available so it could be seen flying over the largely destroyed city of Khan Yunis in July,” the report stated.
In an interview with Times Radio, The Times’ Defence Editor Larisa Brown revealed that the UK hired private US military contractors to carry out surveillance missions over Gaza. pic.twitter.com/pu4ZoFlHGU
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 7, 2025
Ministry of Defense sources confirmed to the paper that the government is paying a company in Nevada for the mission.
The report noted that the MoD contract “is with Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC, a subsidiary of the Sierra Nevada Corporation, one of the largest military contractors in the world.”
Since the aircraft is “contractor-owned and contractor-operated,” British military pilots do not fly it, according to the report.
British Taxpayers’ Money
The aircraft, which has been used by the US military in Iraq, is “designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.”
Palestine Deep Dive first reported on the US plane flying for over an hour above Khan Yunis on July 28, “raising questions about whether the US, UK or Israel had leased it,” the Times reported.
The MoD would not “officially confirm” the US aircraft is being paid for by British taxpayers because the mission is “sensitive,” the report added.
In a new and important article The Times has confirmed our scoop about the new US-leased plane flying spy missions over Gaza for Israel from RAF Akrotiri, the UK airbase on Cyprus.
UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources told the paper that the government is paying a US company to… pic.twitter.com/HklzAh8vRm
— Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) August 6, 2025
Even though the government refused to disclose the contact’s length or cost, the paper cited two sources inside the MoD as having confirmed that the government had leased the aircraft.
A senior British military source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the paper that “Instead of sending a message to Israel that we aren’t going to do surveillance for you, we are happy to hire an American company and pay for it.”
“This is about support for Israel,” the source said.
‘Schoolboy Error’
A Canadian consultant who tracks aircraft and ship movements, Steffan Watkins, confirmed that the aircraft had carried out its first operational flight from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on July 20.
On July 28, “the aircraft did not fully turn off its transponder, which meant it could be identified as flying over southern Gaza,” he noted, adding that this marked the first time since December 2023, “when the RAF started carrying out its surveillance missions over the territory, that the UK flights could be confirmed as operating over Gaza, rather than adjacent to it.”
BREAKING: Flight Path of Secret British Military Spy Missions Over Gaza Exposed for First Time@kennardmatt‘s investigation for Palestine Deep Dive revealed Gaza spy flights from UK base RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus have secretly shifted to a plane leased by a company with billions in… pic.twitter.com/aAAuYZOsbo
— Palestine Deep Dive (@PDeepdive) August 6, 2025
A UK military source “described it as a ‘schoolboy error’ that would not have happened if the plane had been operated by RAF pilots,” the report stated.
Watkins recorded 600 flights by the RAF’s Shadow fleet over the territory between December 2023 and July this year, with flights carried out almost daily, the report added. It also noted a government source as having suggested that there would be “several hard drives” of intelligence available as a result of those flights.
‘Alarm Bells’
Helen Maguire, defence spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats, said the MoD’s use of a private American company to carry out surveillance “raises alarm bells about the UK’s sovereign intelligence-gathering”.
Maquire said it was “right” that the UK was supporting efforts to locate the captives in Gaza, but the government “must outline what steps it has taken to ensure Israel can’t use UK-sourced intelligence for its military operations in Gaza.
UK Government Sued Over Refusal to Evacuate Gaza’s Sickest Children
“We need to be taking every measure necessary to ensure the UK is not contributing to the immense human suffering which we’re seeing in Gaza,” she added.
The paper said that on Monday, government sources “confirmed that its surveillance flights over Gaza continued.”
Rising Gaza Death Toll
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 61,000, wounding more than 151,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
Two Babies Die as Gaza Starvation Toll Rises to 197 amid Israeli Siege
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
time for some UK patriots to leak the details of the cost of this to the UK taxpayer of the uK complicity in the genocide of the Gazans.