Foreign actors could be 'making a point' by flying drones over US army bases in UK, claims drone expert
27 November 2024, 09:55
Foreign actors could be "making a point", says drone expert Professor Peter Lee, after unidentified drones were spotted above three US army bases in the UK.
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The aerial vehicles were seen flying above RAF Feltwell in Norfolk and RAF Lakeheath and RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk - all bases which are used by the US Air Force.
The British military bases are used by the US Air Force.
60 troops have been deployed to support the investigation into who is operating the drones, including counter-drone specialists.
Professor Peter Lee, Professor in Applied Ethics at University of Portsmouth, said that the drones spotted above UK airbases could be foreign actors.
He said "someone is making a point" by flying these unmanned drones and whoever it is must be "motivated" as they targeted bases used by the US Airforce.
Professor Lee told LBC News that the aerial vehicles must manned by local actors, as small drones have a short flying time.
It is likely live-streaming video of infrared images to whoever is operating the drone, Professor Lee said.
Flying drones over military bases is illegal and violates the Civil Aviation Authority guidelines.
The drones could be manned by someone on the ground, or groups of coordinated drone pilots. Or, Professor Lee said that it is possible for these drones to be programmed to fly over the bases, with no traceable signal.
He urged that drones are becoming much more capable, with speed and manoeuvrability.
The only way to stop the vehicles is to attack them with a larger drone - which the UK military do not possess - or shoot them down, which is deemed too dangerous in civilian areas.
Professor Lee said that these are similar drones to those dominating the battlefields in Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon and Gaza.
This comes after similar unmanned drones were spotted above the bases earlier this week, the United States Airforce confirm.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the US Air Force response."
US supplied missiles, ATACMS, were used by Ukraine to attack Russia last week.
Andrey Kelin, the Russian ambassador to the UK, told Sky News that Britain is now 'directly involved in war in Ukraine'.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a new doctrine lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons if Ukraine were to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.
