British troops helping US Air Force after drones spotted flying over bases

British troops are helping the US Air Force in its effort to identify those behind numerous drone sightings over military air bases in the UK.

Unidentified drones have been spotted flying near US airbases in Suffolk and Norfolk in the last week, including one due to host US nuclear warheads.

The small fleets were located over a cluster of three US Air Force bases – RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk – all within a few miles of each other.

With the identity of the drone operator unknown, it is unclear whether a hostile actor is behind them.

Roughly 60 troops British are understood to have been assigned to help solve the mystery.

A US Air Force spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm there were sightings yesterday during night-time hours and can only confirm that the number fluctuated and varied between the bases over the night.

‘Since November 20, there has been no impact to residents or infrastructure and they have not been identified as hostile.

‘However, they are still continuously being monitored to ensure the safety and security of the installations.’

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: ‘We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the US Air Force response.’

RAF Lakenheath is due to host US nuclear warheads for the first time in 15 years, according to plans released earlier this year.

The base is also home to the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing – with its F-15 and F35A fighter jets – giving it a crucial role in any US or NATO military operations in Europe.

It is not clear who is operating the drones involved in recent sightings, or whether they are a hostile actor.

But drones flying over UK military sites is not a new phenomenon.

Metro previously revealed how a series of incidents triggered investigations by the British authorities in the space of just over a year.

The cases recorded by the Ministry of Defence included a pilot reporting an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at 20,000ft.

Another incident concerned a drone, believed to have been a quadcopter, which was said to have ‘hovered over barracks’.

The UAVs were also recorded as coming within close proximity of military facilities, according to the information released by the MoD’s Directorate of Security & Resilience.

One was sighted over the roof of a building while another landed on an ‘upper roofed area’.

In total, there were 21 incidents between January 2022 and February 2023, the response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act shows.

On one occasion a security team was recorded as having located the operator. The incident report reads: ‘Report of drone flying.

‘Officers conducted area search, operator located. Spoken to by officers, who viewed footage from drone, operator voluntarily deleted all footage.’

Only one of the other reports, where a drone was being used at a pre-planned event, shows any sign of the operators having been located.

At the time, the MoD said it had ‘robust security measures in place at all defence sites to respond to such incidents.’

These latest drone sightings come at a tense moment for the British and US militaries based at these sites.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week threatened to launch strikes on military targets here after Ukraine fired British and American long-range missiles into Russian territory for the first time.

In retaliation, Putin fired an experimental hypersonic mid or intermediate range ballistic missile – called Oreshnik – on a rocket factory in Ukraine.

This was initially feared to be a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile – capable of hitting targets more than 3,410 miles away – which would have been its first such use in war.

A Putin ally warned Russia could unleash Oreshnik missiles on European cities, with Putin promising to continue testing the weapon on the battlefield.

Putin has also lowered the bar for using nuclear weapons, tweaking the country’s official nuclear doctrine so they can be used in response to conventional strikes supported by nuclear powers.

RAF Lakenheath has previously been identified as a possible prime target should Russia ever launch a direct missile attack on the UK.

This is because plans are in motion to house US nuclear warheads – more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb – there for the first time in 15 years.

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