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LONDON —British and American authorities are investigating after several drones were spotted in recent days flying over four U.S. military bases in England. Britain has deployed dozens of troops around the bases amid concerns the overflights could be acts of deception or sabotage by an adversary such as Russia.
In a statement issued Wednesday, U.S. Air Forces in Europe said that "small unmanned aerial systems continue to be spotted in the vicinity of and over Royal Air Force Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Feltwell and RAF Fairford since Nov. 20." It said the number of drones sighted has fluctuated and has ranged in size and configurations.
"To date, installation leaders have determined that none of the incursions impacted base residents, facilities or assets. The air force is taking all appropriate measures to safeguard the aforementioned installations and their residents," the statement said.
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RAF Lakenheath in the east of England is home to the U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing, a cornerstone of its combat capability in Europe and home to several F-35 stealth fighter jets, among other aircraft. Four American B-52 strategic bombers are currently based at RAF Fairford in the west of the country.
The Pentagon said this week it is actively monitoring the situation. "The bottom line is it's something that we're going to take seriously. We're continuing to look into it. But as of right now, [it] has not had any significant mission impact," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder told reporters Tuesday, adding that small drones have become "relatively common now across the landscape."
Britain has deployed about 60 soldiers around the U.S. bases. British Defense Minister Maria Eagle said they are using "multilayered force protection measures."
"We will be making sure that anybody that we manage to catch for engaging in this behavior is shown the full force of the law," Eagle told lawmakers Wednesday.
The nature of the sightings suggests the drones are not being operated by hobbyists, said David Dunn, a professor of international politics at Britain's University of Birmingham, who has written extensively on the dangers posed by drones.
"It's particularly alarming in this context that actually talked about there [being] several different sizes of drones. It does seem to be a coordinated and planned activity. The most obvious thing is that these are disruptive practices and that they actually force the airfield to operate in a different way, to suspend air operations," Dunn told VOA.
The drones can also be used for other purposes.
"They can gather intelligence on how many planes are operating, where they're based, what the movements are. And, actually, they can also do that for individuals," Dunn said.
Drones have been sighted above the U.S. base at RAF Feltwell, which primarily serves as living quarters for U.S. military personnel - a "particularly sinister" development, according to Dunn.
"Because in an age where you have highly sophisticated fifth-generation aircraft that operate stealthily and invisibly in the electronic spectrum when they're flying - and are highly protected on the airbase in hardened aircraft shelters - the most vulnerable part of the overall system is actually the aircrew," Dunn told VOA.
"And so, if you can identify where they live by following them home onto their married quarters, you can identify where you can actually break the weakest part of that chain," he said.
The Times of London newspaper reported that authorities have not ruled out Russia as the culprit. Dunn said there's evidence of Moscow seeking to step up hybrid attacks, meaning a nonmilitary form of warfare that can still be destructive.
"Whether that be the disruption of undersea cables or of incendiary parcels being sent to the city I live in, Birmingham - there was an incendiary parcel found in Birmingham airport. There's another [example] of a warehouse being burned down, which stored material going to Ukraine. These things are typically, it seems, done at third party, whereby the Russian state, it seems, has employed criminals in the U,K.," Dunn said.
The Russian Embassy in London had not responded to VOA requests for comment by the time of publication. Moscow has previously denied any involvement in hybrid attacks on the West.