Foreign powers or phantom menace? Mystery of the air base drone sightings

Up to 20 drones at a time were reported close to US military airfields in Suffolk and Norfolk over a three-day period in November 2024

A year ago, military air bases in Britain were put on alert following reports of drone sightings. What have we learned since?

The US Air Force (USAF) initially sounded the alarm about "small unmanned aerial systems", spotted close to its bases at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, RAF Feltwell in Norfolk and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over three days.

The BBC has since learned more about the Suffolk and Norfolk sightings, reported between 20 and 22 November 2024, including that:

• Swarms of up to 20 drones at a time were reported

• Many of the sightings were reported by military personnel

• Police officers who attended reported seeing large "non-hobby" drones

• Some were said to be flying low over runway approaches

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) has been investigating these events.

Its inquiry has now been completed but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would not reveal whether its findings would be released.

Police logs reveal more about the sightings at the bases, including RAF Lakenheath

The exact nature of these sightings remains unknown, at least to the public.

Some within the UK drone community believe they were the result of misidentification of regular aircraft at night.

Verified footage of the purported drones around the bases is certainly in short supply.

But one leading defence analyst believes there definitely were drones, some of which were operated by a foreign power.

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, says: "On this occasion there were, without question, several unidentified aerial vehicles observed by both US Air Force and RAF forces, conducting unknown but most likely hostile state-coordinated activity over the air bases in question."

Recent Freedom of Information Act (FOI) disclosures, obtained by Dumfries-based researcher Rowland Hume and shared with the BBC, shed more light on events.

Lengthy Suffolk Police incident logs and one crime report describe sightings of up to 20 drones at a time over Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell.

Most of these reports came from military personnel.

'Very large'

Officers dispatched to the scene reported seeing large, "non-hobby" drones.

At least five were spotted using night-vision goggles.

Some were described as stationary and without lights.

"Informant says the drones are very large and they make a lot of noise," one entry reads.

Further on, the log records another describing how "the drones are now flying very low over the area where the planes come in to land".

Daytime sightings and the handing over of video footage are also noted.

Suffolk Police said it could not comment owing to the MDP inquiry.

New details have also emerged about a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter crew's reports of an encounter near RAF Lakenheath on the evening of 22 November.

The police log states: "NPAS are withdrawing. They feel the drones have targeted them and chased them off at 140 knots [161mph]."

It says "they were forced to take emergency evasive action" and had to perform an "emergency dive" because the object had "pursued them".

However, a subsequent report revealed the crew had actually seen a USAF F-15 Eagle fighter jet, whose presence had not been communicated to them.

The encounter was filmed from the helicopter.

The police helicopter and the US F-15 Eagle came within about 1,900ft (580m) of each other

Former police officer Mike Morgan, who has been trying to obtain this footage under FOI legislation, said he had so far not been successful, though NPAS had released a still image.

Mr Morgan, from Gravesend, Kent, said: "I've spoken to a number of witnesses who are adamant these things were very unusual and not your standard drones.

"They laugh at claims they were misidentified aircraft, as they live near the base and these things were overhead and clearly visible."

Ch Supt Fiona Gaffney, chief operating officer for NPAS, said: "At this time, the footage has not been released under the Freedom of Information Act as we are continuing to work with third parties, including the Ministry of Defence, to determine whether its release is appropriate."

NPAS released a still of an object, subsequently identified as an F-15 jet, captured by a camera on board its helicopter

Residents of Beck Row, next to RAF Mildenhall, reported seeing objects they identified as drones.

One woman from Lakenheath, who asked not to be named, described a drone with two red lights hovering metres above her roof on at least six occasions, between September 2024 and last month.

The object also intermittently shone what appeared to be a spotlight, she said.

"There was a very small white light coming into my yard. This is activity that has been happening for over a year," she said.

It made "a small motor noise", she said. Describing the encounters as "scary", she added: "I can't sleep any more."

She said she reported the incidents to Suffolk Police, but the force told the BBC it had no record of the contact.

The BBC has been able to geolocate the video to the address supplied by the woman, which is close to the airbase, but has been unable to verify whether the footage is what it is claimed to be.

Some residents previously told the BBC they had been visited by USAF investigators.

Some people who reported sightings were visited by USAF investigators, who left calling cards (contact details redacted)

What makes RAF Lakenheath particularly sensitive is the possibility the base could be storing nuclear weapons once again.

There have also been recent drone sightings around critical infrastructure across Europe, prompting a response from NATO.

British military assistance has been provided to Belgium after a series of suspected Russian drone incursions into its airspace.

But an investigation by the Flemish public broadcaster, VRT, revealed some images of purported drones in local media were, in fact, of regular aircraft.

The i Paper also reported how three individuals linked to Russian military intelligence had been tracked to locations close to the East Anglian bases.

Russia has denied the accusations.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been 187 drone sightings near military establishments in the UK, according to a Parliamentary answer.

RAF Lakenheath has recently constructed facilities consistent with the deployment of nuclear weapons, according to US government documents

An MOD spokesman said: "We will not comment on the sensitivity of establishments or our specific security arrangements in relation to identifying and capturing drones".

A USAF spokesman said: "To safeguard operational security, we do not discuss specific force protection measures.

"As always, the US Air Force works closely in partnership with host-nation authorities to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities, and assets."