UK skies are becoming the new frontline: Expert warns Britain must act fast to stop Russian drones
As Russia’s drone war creeps closer to Western Europe, the UK is arming itself with new powers to shoot down unidentified UAVs over military sites. A drone defence expert tells LBC it’s a vital, overdue shift: fighting drones with agility and realism, not missiles that cost a thousand times more than the threat itself.
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Karl Rosander has spent years watching the skies. Not with idle curiosity, but with a kind of professional paranoia born of experience.
As the CEO and co-founder of Nordic Air Defence, a company building drone interceptors to shoot down hostile UAVs, he’s seen how quickly the balance of power can shift when something the size of a shoebox can threaten a power station, an airport, or a military base.
So, when Defence Secretary John Healey announced new legal powers allowing the military to shoot down unidentified drones over UK bases, Rosander didn’t hesitate to welcome the move.
“It’s encouraging to me to see the UK repeatedly highlight this year the importance of drone defence, both now and in the strategic review,” he said. “The government is putting its money where its mouth is.”
For Rosander, the shift marks a crucial step toward flexibility and realism in the way countries defend themselves. “Fighting back against drones requires flexibility and agility,” he said. “They can appear anywhere, in any volume, without warning. Increasing the range of potential options to take them down is important.”
It’s a practical concern, not a theoretical one. Across Europe, drones, many suspected to be of Russian origin, have been sighted over military installations and critical infrastructure.
In the UK, unidentified UAVs have hovered above airbases used by both British and US forces, including RAF Lakenheath, Mildenhall, and Feltwell.
In Denmark, British counter-drone experts were recently deployed to investigate similar suspicious activity.
Read more: Russian drones expose NATO’s air defence gaps as expert warns Britain’s security is on the line
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, the scale of drone warfare has become staggering: more than 5,500 attack drones launched in September, over 3,000 in October so far.
Nineteen crossed into Poland last month; Russian jets violated Estonian airspace days later; and Moldova’s elections were targeted in what Healey described as a “concerted campaign” of subversion.
“Europe is obviously also acutely aware of this threat and is making a lot of noise about its drone wall,” Rosander noted, “but that will take some time to develop and implement when the danger the continent faces is now. That’s why lightweight, kinetic solutions are crucial to protect critical energy, civilian and travel infrastructure.”
His frustration is clear when it comes to the economics of defence. “It’s absurd and unsustainable for European countries and the UK to be constantly scrambling jets or shooting down drones worth £1,000 with missiles worth millions,” he said. “Speed matters, but so does cost. You can’t fight 21st-century drone warfare with Cold War tactics.”
Healey, for his part, seems to agree. In a speech in London, he framed the UK’s approach as both defensive and forward-looking. “We will always do what’s needed to defend the British people,” he said, announcing that new powers to down drones will be written into the forthcoming Armed Forces Bill.
He drew a direct connection between Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and the risks facing Britain. “Russian aggression has escalated,” he warned. “It’s extended even further West.”
For Rosander, that clarity of thinking is reassuring. “It’s heartening that Defence Secretary John Healey has drawn a clear line between what’s happening in Ukraine and what the UK faces,” he said. “He sees the relentless attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and is determined not to let the same thing happen here. He’s right that the UK is not immune to the drone threat, and he’s right that our skies must be protected.”
In a world where the next attack could come from a device the size of a football, hovering quietly over a runway or a power substation, Rosander’s message is simple: adapt or fall behind.
And for once, he says, Britain looks like it’s choosing the former.