US Air Force responds to ‘suspected unauthorised drone activity’ over RAF Lakenheath

Detailed summary

Suspicious drones have been sighted over a Suffolk airbase, days after the US pulled its planes from another British site. The US Air Force confirmed that its personnel had…

Suspicious drones have been sighted over a Suffolk airbase, days after the US pulled its planes from another British site.

The US Air Force confirmed that its personnel had “responded to suspected unauthorised drone activity” over RAF Lakenheath, saying that no personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected.

An unconfirmed video circulating online appeared to show sirens blaring in the area.

The Ministry of Defence said the situation “is now resolved” and it is “working closely” with the US Air Force to establish the facts.

Downing Street insisted earlier this week that British air bases are safe and their security is a “top priority” after US aircraft were moved from nearby RAF Mildenhall, also in Suffolk.

The US has 12 airbases in the UK; however, The i Paper understands that the incident only affected RAF Lakenheath.

RAF Lakenheath said in September that it was on “Charlie alert”, the second-highest threat level that can be issued by the US Department of Defence.

It is home to the 48th Fighter Wing, also known as the Liberty Wing, with almost 7,000 active-duty personnel making it the largest US fighter operation in Europe, according to the official base website.

Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, said the incident was resolved with no threat to the public, but did not say what had happened.

Opening of the article, excerpted from i News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.