UK deploys A400M on counter-migrant mission

A UK Royal Air Force (RAF) A400M transport was re-roled to fly a surveillance mission over the Strait of Dover on 10 August in response to attempts by migrants to cross the English Channel in inflatable boats.

An RAF A400M crew member using binoculars to scan the English Channel for migrant boats. (Crown copyright)

The mission was the first by RAF aircraft to monitor the Channel during the ongoing UK government campaign to counter migrant movements from France. It was launched after UK defence secretary Ben Wallace approved a request from the UK Home Office [interior ministry] for military assistance.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website on 11 August that the aircraft would “provide surveillance and intelligence, feeding information directly to the UK Coastguard and Border Force, which will facilitate the quicker interception of boats”.

“The deployment of the A400M Atlas permits surveillance to be carried out with a greater field of vision over a wider area,” the ministry said. “It therefore represented the most effective use of available resources. This constitutes the MoD’s initial offer of support to the Home Office, and further work is being carried out to determine who the MOD can further assist in the Channel”.

The mission was flown from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the home base of the RAF A400M fleet.

A senior RAF source told Janes