SAS and SBS elite troops referred to as in hunt for string of suspicious drone flights over American air bases
Elite troops from the SAS and SBS are hunting down those responsible for a string of suspicious drone flights over American air bases, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Special Forces soldiers are believed to have been secretly flown by helicopter to East Anglia on November 30.
Their deployment came after a string of mysterious drone sightings at four sensitive bases used by the US Air Force: Lakenheath and Mildenhall in Suffolk, Feltwell in Norfolk and Fairford in Gloucestershire
Some of the troops are believed to be operating the RAF‘s ORCUS counter-drone weapons, which can jam the signal to devices, allowing them to take over the controls.
The US and UK have not publicly identified who is believed to be behind the incidents but sources have said the activity could be a ‘sinister’ plot, with people being paid to fly the drones.
It comes amid heightened tensions with Russia, with Vladimir Putin saying his military could target the UK in direct response to Ukraine’s use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles.
It was reported last month that about 60 British troops were scrambled to help USAF with its probe of the incidents.
The MoS can reveal, however, that their numbers appear to have been bolstered last weekend by a detachment of elite special forces troops.
RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk has been earmarked as a storage facility for US nuclear warheads three times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb
An Israeli military drone is seen flying over the Gaza Strip earlier this year. Unmanned aerial vehicles are playing a growing part in modern warfare
It comes amid heightened tensions with Russia, with Vladimir Putin saying his military could target the UK in direct response to Ukraine’s use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles
Radar data seen by this newspaper showed how an RAF Chinook helicopter took off from its base at RAF Odiham in Hampshire on the afternoon of November 30, landing around half an hour later near the headquarters of the Special Boat Service in Poole, Dorset.
The aircraft then flew to Hereford, where 22 Special Air Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and a special forces signal regiment are all based. After a short time on the ground it then crossed the country, flying to Lakenheath and arriving at the air base at 4.37pm.
Philip Ingram, a former senior intelligence and security officer in the British Army, said: ‘If special forces were used as part of this and if it was the Russian GRU (military intelligence service) behind the drones… then who better to send that message to them than British special forces?
‘They have got all the techniques to scare them – they could go in heavy, arrest them heavy and give them a tactical talking to. The special forces have got a very good deterrence role.’
The MoD last night said: ‘We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the US Air Force response.’
It comes as new figures reveal how RAF Typhoon jets have been scrambled 22 times in the last three years to intercept foreign planes flying close to British airspace.
More than half of the missions were to guide Russian military aircraft away from UK airspace, according to RAF insiders.
So far this year, seven concerning incidents – including the detection of Russian aircraft – have been flagged to the RAF’s Quick Reaction Force at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire or RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
