US personnel at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk were ordered to shelter on Friday evening after suspected unauthorised drone activity over the base, with no injuries or damage reported.
A US Air Force spokesperson said security forces had responded. “No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected,” the spokesperson said, according to LBC. Sirens were also heard at the base, LBC reported.
Sky News, as relayed by Great Driffield Radio, said it had seen the alert sent to personnel. It was headed “REAL WORLD” in red capital letters and told people on the base to shelter in place.
What the US Air Force said
The spokesperson said the USAF was working closely with its UK counterparts on the safety of US service members, civilians, contractors and families. The Jerusalem Post reported the statement was given by email.
The USAF also encouraged people to report any unusual or suspicious activity to local authorities, according to the Sky News report.
The Ministry of Defence said it was coordinating with relevant parties and that US personnel had responded and the situation was resolved, according to Militarnyi. The Ministry added that it was working to establish the circumstances.
Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, said he had been told there was no threat to the public and that the incident was over, Inquisitr reported.
What is not known
Nobody has said who was flying the drones, or why. Inquisitr reported that officials have not identified any operators and that it was unclear how many drones were involved or whether any were intercepted.
The Air Force had not said whether security levels at the base had changed, according to the same report. RedState reported that the base was back to normal operations.
Lakenheath hosts the US Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing, known as the Liberty Wing.
The incident follows a week of security concerns at US sites in the UK. On Monday the US military moved more than a dozen aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, also in Suffolk, amid reports of a security threat linked to Iran, Sky News reported. At least two were moved to Lakenheath.
LBC said RAF Lakenheath reported in September that it was operating at “Charlie” alert, the second-highest threat level issued by the US Department of Defense. A security alert also hit RAF Fairford in September after three suspicious vans were reported nearby, according to the AOL report.
There is no confirmation of any link between Friday’s drone reports and the Mildenhall threat. Drones were also reported over Lakenheath, Mildenhall, Feltwell and Fairford in late 2024.
The USAF and the Ministry of Defence have yet to say what the drones were.
Sources: LBC, Great Driffield Radio (citing Sky News), The Jerusalem Post, Militarnyi, Inquisitr
This story was compiled by the MDW Newsdesk with AI-assisted tools, using the reporting credited above.
