The Royal Air Force Lakenheath station in Suffolk, U.K., is among the latest military base to be buzzed by unauthorized drones in the past month, the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.
The outlet obtained exclusive images of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photographed by a special military unit over the U.S. base in England last month. The Daily Mail also reviewed documents from a joint U.S. Air Force, NASA, and FBI report that detailed past incursions by mysterious drones on domestic bases.
This next generation of UAVs can reportedly reach speeds of 170 mph and some are estimated to be the size a passenger car.
For the last several weeks, dozens of reports have circulated regarding drone sightings in several states on the east coast of the U.S. operating near critical infrastructure and military bases. Both state and federal elected officials have voiced concerns and pleaded with the federal government to inform the public as to the nature of the UAVs.
RAF Lakenheath is significant as it recently welcomed the return of thermo-nuclear weapons to the United Kingdom via the U.S. military. U.S. missiles were removed from Britain in 2008 when it was determined the Cold War had run its course and military threats from Russia had diminished. The base now houses B61-12 gravity bombs, which are three-times the strength of the Hiroshima bomb, are smaller, and able to be delivered by conventional fighter jets.
The Daily Mail has reviewed internal government documents showing federal agencies have known about the airspace violations from advanced drones for over a year but have been unable to stop them.
The Warzone defense magazine revealed in March of this year that Langley Air Force Base in Virginia was swarmed with dozens of drones for weeks in December of 2023.
The report said that the multiple agencies' "detection equipment" and "signal jamming" had "failed" in a presentation slide titled "lessons learned."
The report has called for "more training/equipment needed for Ground Intercept Team," better communication for field personnel, and better capabilities of UAS (anti-drone technology) and detection systems."
An officer with knowledge of the report spoke to the outlet and said the new drones appear to be controlled remotely using radio frequencies outside of the normal bands used for military or civilians UAVs.
"The drones were flying in with no lights," they said. "When they were close to the site, they were turning the lights on going, 'Here I am,' and as far as I know not one piece of our equipment could bring it down or spot it.
"It's very, very advanced technology. It can move very fast and it can't be detected on any of the systems that we've currently got," he added.
The drones and their nebulous intentions have disrupted the plans of President-elect Donald Trump as well.
On Monday, Trump told reporters he had decided to cancel a planned trip to his golf course in Bedminster New Jersey, after a helicopter had chased away a drone on Sunday morning.
"They're very close to Bedminster," Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. "I think I won't spend the weekend in Bedminster. I decided to cancel my trip."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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