An unknown number of drones have been spotted over three air bases in Britain, the United States Air Force (USAF) has confirmed.
The incidents, which took place between Wednesday and Friday, saw “small unmanned aircraft” spotted over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in the neighboring county of Norfolk.
The USAF, which operates the bases, said at this time it was not clear whether the drones were considered hostile.
It also declined to comment on whether preventive measures were used, but said it reserves the “right to prevent” the installation.
RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk is home to the USAF’s European refueling wing [Mike Page Aerial Photogrpahy]
A USAF spokesman in Europe said: “We can confirm small unmanned aerial vehicles [UASs] seen in the vicinity of and over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell.
“The number of UAS has changed and varied in size/configuration.
“The UAS were carefully monitored and the installation commanders determined that none of them affected civilians or critical infrastructure.
“To protect operational security, we do not discuss our security measures but we reserve the right to prevent installation.
“We continue to monitor our airspace and are working with national authorities and partner missions to ensure the safety of ground personnel, facilities and equipment.”
RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refueling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets, while RAF Feltwell is primarily concerned with logistics and provides housing for soldiers.
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats very seriously and maintain strict security measures in place.
“This includes counter drone security capabilities.
“We don’t talk much about security measures anymore.”
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