this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2026
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UK Politics
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Supposedly, Britain doesn't use the same midair refuelling system as the US and Israel, so can't refuel US and Israeli planes. However, we do have a lot of our own planes in the air to shoot drones and missiles down if they're targeting allies. It seems pretty plausible that they might need fuel, and it's a bigger disruption to air defense if they've got to land and take off again. Also, a lot of the UK's allies in the area like Qatar and Saudi Arabia use a compatible refueling system, so it could be to refuel their planes, which are also in the air in the general region doing air defense, although it would be odd for any of them to be that close to Cyprus.
When Palestine Action vandalised that plane the press were saying “it’s not even the same refuelling system”. Like that was the point.