DRONE FRIGHT
Unidentified drones spotted flying over THREE RAF airbases including £40m site where US plans to store nuclear weapons
Unconfirmed reports suggest F-15E Strike Eagles were scrambled to chase the drones
A SWARM of unidentified droneshave been spotted flying over three separate RAF airbases, the US Air Force has said.
The fleet of "unmanned aerial devices" were seen over a £40m RAF airbase that is set to house American nuclear weapons.
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The incidents, which occurred between November 20 and 22, saw “small unmanned aerial systems” spotted over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk.
The US Air Force, which has fighter jets on standby at the bases, said it was unclear at this stage whether the drones were considered hostile.
A spokesperson for US Air Forces in Europe said: "We can confirm that small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) were spotted in the vicinity of and over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell between November 20 and 22.
"The number of UASs fluctuated and they ranged in size [and] configuration.
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"The UASs were actively monitored and installation leaders determined that none of the incursions impacted base residents or critical infrastructure"
Unconfirmed reports suggest F-15E Strike Eagles were scrambled to chase the drones that affected the flight operations at the base.
The US Air Force declined to comment on those claims but said it retains “the right to protect” installations.
The spokesperson added: "To protect operational security, we do not discuss our specific force protection measures but retain the right to protect the installation."
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RAF Lakenheath is a critical military facility that stores the US Air Forces in Europe's only fourth and fifth-generation fighter wing, besides being home to F-35A & F-15E tactical jets, military website The War Zone reports.
It comes after Vladimir Putin's this week issued a fresh threat against the West.
Putin unleashes 'one of biggest air attacks' on Ukraine with drones & missile barrage as Poland scrambles jets
The raging dictator warned he could strike British and US military targets in his biggest threat yet after Ukraine fired Nato missiles into Russian territory.
In a televised address on Thursday, Putin said military facilities inside the UK and the US could become valid targets for the Russian forces as a direct response to Ukraine's use of US-made ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles.
He said: "Russia considers itself entitled to use weapons against military facilities of countries that permit the use of their weapons against Russia.
"Since this moment, as we have underscored repeatedly, the conflict in Ukraine, provoked by the West, has acquired elements of global nature."
Earlier this year, bombshell documents from the Pentagon revealed the US is set to store nuclear weapons at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
The tell-it-all documents from the US Department of Defence’s procurement database revealed plans for a “nuclear mission” set to take place “imminently” at the RAF base.
They showed the Pentagon had ordered new equipment for the base, including ballistic shields designed to protect military personnel from "high-value assets" attacks.
RAF Lakenheath is expected to take in B61-12 gravity bombs which have a variable yield of up to 50 kilotons.
The nuclear warheads will be up to three times the strength of the deadly Hiroshima bomb at the air base, according to the procurement contracts.
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Nuclear missiles were removed by the US from the UK in 2008 when the threat of Cold War was believed to have diminished.
RAF Lakenheath has been run by the US Air Force under British regulations and laws for decades now.
The agreement allows the US to have a home for its nuclear weapons that can be deployed by F-35 fighter jets.
Russia has previously said it would view the US placing weapons in Britain as an “escalation” that would be met with “compensating counter-measures”.
Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said prior to the latest announcement: “If this step is ever made, we will view it as escalation, as a step toward escalation that would take things to a direction that is quite opposite to addressing the pressing issue of pulling all nuclear weapons out of European countries.
“This practice and its development force us to take compensating countermeasures designed to reliably protect the security interests of our country and its allies.”
The return of weapons to the UK is part of a huge Nato push to develop and upgrade nuclear sites across the world in preparation for a potential escalation of fighting.
The Pentagon has not confirmed it is planning to store nukes in the UK.
A spokesman said: “The United States routinely upgrades its military facilities in allied nations. Unclassified administrative budget documents often accompany such activities.
“These documents are not predictive of, nor are they intended to disclose any specific posture or basing details.
“It is US policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at any general or specific location.”
Meanwhile, villagers close to the American military base in West Suffolk, fear they could become Vladimir Putin's target if bombs are stored there.
In the event of World War 3, the American Air Force warplanes based in the UK would be called in.
But villagers are worried that their little community could find itself at the centre of a major international conflict, with tensions increasing due to Putin's war with Ukraine and Hamas' attack on Israel.
One fumed: ”I fear we will become one of the first targets if this conflict escalates.
"The enemy will want to neutralise any threat coming from the Americans and us and could well strike first.
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" It doesn’t bear thinking about.
“This is a small happy village and we have got used to having the Americans here. "But there is always the risk that if they get involved in a war in the Middle East we will inevitably be drawn in – and military bases like Lakenheath will become a key target for any enemy.”
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