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“Swarms” of unidentified drones have been repeatedly spotted over U.S. Air Force (USAF) bases in the United Kingdom, reportedly causing American military officials to become “alarmed.” These drone incursions have been reported happening at RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, and RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The first reports of these mysterious drones appearing over U.S. occurred on Nov. 20. Since then, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence police has been investigating and approximately 60 British troops, including counter-drone specialists, have been deployed. A USAF spokesperson told Sky News that a similar swarm of unidentified drones appears on Nov. 22.
The spokesperson said the number of drones which appeared each time “fluctuated” and “varied between the bases.” So far, the spokesperson claims, there has been “no impact to residents or infrastructure and [the drones] have not been identified as hostile.”
“However they are still continuously being monitored to ensure the safety and security of the installations,” they added. That includes the use of the RAF Regiment’s Force Protection Wing, who has specialized skills in countering drones.
According to Fox News, military officials say they are “alarmed” by the unexplained presence of the “swarms of small drones.” A senior U.S. official also told Fox News that the unidentified drones do not appear to be those typically flown by “hobbyists” as they are more sophisticated.
One resident of the village of Beck Row, Suffolk, located next to RAF Mildenhall told the BBC, “They were really noisy and had lights. They looked official to be honest. If they are a threat, why aren’t they being shot down? Why let them fly over if they’re sinister?”
Another resident said, “In the last 10 days I have seen military jeeps around the village. There has been a much higher police presence than usual – military and U.K. police, adding, “There was a big orange light in the sky and all of a sudden it was gone. I heard people shouting ‘wow.'”