Sixty RAF ‘electronic warfare’ specialists have been deployed to protect US-British airbases from possible Russian drone attacks.
The highly trained troops were scrambled to the top secret Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell sites in East Anglia after the drone sightings on Monday.
They have been ordered to intercept any Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) posing a threat to aircraft or military personnel and to preserve operational security. The deployments follow sightings last week after Vladimir Putin vowed British and US military facilities were valid targets for Kremlin attacks.
The Russian President issued the chilling threat after Ukraine fired UK and US missiles into Russia for the first time. Russia responded to the Storm Shadow and ATACM salvos by firing a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile into Ukraine.
Today, Sir Keir Starmer attended an Armed Forces chiefs stocktake meeting at Downing Street, alongside General Sir Roly Walker, and Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
The Mail understands the RAF specialists have been drawn from the service’s 34 Squadron, based at RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire. These personnel are equipped with thermal-imagining cameras, radio frequency and acoustic sensors, GPS jammers and long-range anti-drone guns.
Last night, US and UK military spokespersons confirmed the joint operation. In a statement, a spokesman for the US Air Forces in Europe, said: ‘We can confirm there were sightings yesterday during night-time hours and can only confirm that the number fluctuated and varied between the bases over the night.
‘Since Nov 20, there has been no impact to residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile. However, they are still continuously being monitored to ensure the safety and security of the installations.’
An anonymous US official said the drones were coordinated and not the work of hobbyists but that it was too early to say who was responsible. While none of the suspicious drones have been confirmed as Russian, Kremlin UAVs have recently been identified in Latvia and Romania.
In Ukraine, drones dominate the battlefield. On Monday night, Russia used a record 188 drones in a single attack. Last week saw an uptick in drone activity around Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell – the three bases are highly sensitive, and symbolic for the Kremlin.
Last night, the RAF said: ‘We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the US Air Force response.’