US-based contractor hired by UK to continue spy flights over Gaza

The British government has hired a US defence contractor to carry out surveillance flights over Gaza on behalf of Irael, The Times has reported.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is reportedly paying Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC, a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, to operate the missions due to a shortage of Royal Air Force (RAF) Shadow R1 surveillance aircraft. 

RAF planes, usually stationed at Akrotiri in Cyprus, are said to have been redeployed or are undergoing maintenance, prompting the lease of the US-operated planes.

The contract reportedly covers intelligence-gathering flights to search for hostages held by Hamas. The MoD has refused to officially confirm the arrangement, citing its “sensitive” nature, but two sources confirmed its existence to The Times. A senior British military figure told the paper:

“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.”

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Britain has run near-daily surveillance flights over Gaza since December 2023, initially with RAF Shadows, then via Sierra Nevada’s aircraft since late July. Flight tracker data showed one of the US-operated planes circling over Khan Younis on 28 July after a “schoolboy error” left its transponder on, confirming its presence over Gaza rather than adjacent airspace.

Jeremy Corbyn, co-leader of a new left-wing party, called the ongoing cooperation “utterly indefensible” while “a genocide is livestreamed around the world.” Liberal Democrat defence spokesperson Helen Maguire said the government must ensure UK-gathered intelligence cannot be used by Israel in its Gaza campaign.

The flights were first announced in December 2023 by then-defence secretary Grant Shapps. Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, accusations of genocide and breaches of international humanitarian law have mounted. A Labour backbencher, Kim Johnson, said it was “deeply concerning that surveillance flights over Gaza continue relentlessly, even as serious questions remain about their purpose and oversight.”

Military and legal experts warned that passing intelligence of “military utility” to Israel could make the UK a party to the conflict — a status with serious legal and political implications. The Attorney General’s office has declined to comment on whether legal advice has been given about the flights

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