Drones spotted buzzing RAF bases were launched from Russian shadow fleet tanker sailing near UK, report reveals

Published: 11:48, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 11:55, 2 July 2026 Russian drones have invaded British airspace and loitered over RAF and US military bases, a report has concluded. The unmanned aerial platforms targeted the Lakenheath and Mildenhall bases in Suffolk, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk over four days in 2024. The tiny platforms were launched from a Kremlin spy ship the HAV Dolphin that was sighted off the coast of Humberside at the time of the operation. The security crisis resulted in specialist British troops with expertise and equipment to intercept Russian drones being deployed to those bases. Details of the top secret Russian operation have been revealed for the first time today. Back in November 2024 the UK government declined to acknowledge the origin of the drones. Today, the International Institute for Security Studies declared the operation was part of a continent-wide Kremlin campaign. The IISS found Russia has been using shadow fleet vessels sailing in international waters to launch drones over Britain and mainland Europe exposing critical gaps in allied air defences. The shocking findings come days after Labour published its long-delayed Defence Investment Plan (DIP), triggering a furious row over its refusal to meet the requests of service chiefs to invest more money in UK security. RAF Lankenheath in Suffolk (pictured) was one of the bases targeted by the unmanned aerial platforms Suspected drones were pictured over the RAF base in Suffolk two years ago The tiny platforms were launched from a Kremlin spy ship the HAV Dolphin that was sighted off the coast of Humberside at the time of the operation Despite the pleas by senior officers and the resignations of Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer refused to overrule the Treasury over spending on the Army, Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Just weeks ago the UK's most senior military officer, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told parliament vital operations intended to thwart Russia would have to be 'dialled back' due to the cash crisis. Despite that warning, Downing Street announced earlier this week a defence spending settlement providing an additional £15 billion on top of scheduled investment over four years. To meet NATO spending targets the UK government will need to find an additional £25 billion each year until 2035. According to experts that will require a 3p increase in the basic rate of tax. The IISS found that between August 2024 and February 2026 Russia targeted 12 NATO member states, and Ireland, which does not belong to NATO. The incursions into the airspace of those countries resulted in major commercial airports being closed and disruption to military activities. The IISS said the Russians 'penetrated the perimeters of some of Europe's most sensitive defence installations – among them nuclear-sharing sites hosting American B61-12 gravity bombs and France's ballistic missile submarine base at Ile Longue. 'It is highly likely that the Kremlin conducted an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) campaign over Europe. We assess that it is likely that Russian-linked vessels and the 'shadow fleet' were used as launch/recovery platforms for UAVs as part of the Kremlin's wider unconventional war on Europe. 'The campaign likely had a number of aims, including probing response times and decision-making thresholds, mapping vulnerabilities around critical national infrastructure, imposing economic and psychological costs on European societies and disrupting civilian aviation.' When the Russian drones were sighted, 60 RAF 'Electronic Warfare' specialists were sent to defend the bases, which are shared by British and US personnel. The highly trained troops were ordered to intercept any Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) posing a threat to aircraft or military personnel and to preserve operational security. The Kremlin drone sorties may have been launched in response to Ukraine firing US and UK ballistic missiles into mainland Russia for the first time. The RAF specialists came from the service's 34 Squadron, based at RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire. They were equipped with thermal-imaging cameras, radio frequency and acoustic sensors, GPS jammers and long-range anti-drone guns. Around the same time an unidentified drone was also observed tailing the UK's £3.5 billion aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. Russian drones were sighted in Latvia and Romania. At the time, the Royal Navy flagship was entering the port of Hamburg in northern Germany. The unidentified 1.5m by 1.5m drone was targeted with HP-47 jammers by guards before it withdrew. The three bases are all highly sensitive, and symbolic for the Kremlin. Today, RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, is home to the US Air Force's 48th Fighter Wing and its F-15 and F-35A supersonic jets. During the Cold War it was among the USAF bases used to store nuclear weapons in this country. Reports also emerged earlier this year that nuclear weapons could return to the base. Documents suggested RAF Lakenheath was preparing facilities to house and guard bombs with an explosive power many times greater than the warheads dropped on Hiroshima in World War Two. The aircraft based there have been adapted to fire so-called 'tactical gravity nuclear weapons'. Papers were also published, then hurriedly withdrawn by US defence officials, suggesting additional defensive shelters would be constructed at RAF Lakenheath for an 'upcoming nuclear mission'. RAF Lakenheath, in Suffolk, is home to the US Air Force's 48th Fighter Wing and its F-15 and F-35A supersonic jets Lakenheath is a highly sensitive location for the US military, reportedly earmarked to store some of America's arsenal of nuclear weapons Warning notices fixed to the perimeter fence of RAF Lakenheath on 11th May 2024 According to open source reports, more than 4,000 US troops are based there. Nearby RAF Mildenhall supports USAF operations and is home to its 100th Air Refueling Wing which flies Boeing KC 'Stratotankers'. RAF Feltwell, in Norfolk, is equally significant as it houses the US's mysterious radomes – weatherproof domes used to protect highly sophisticated radar and electromagnetic systems. The US Space Force and the 73rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance are also based there. In 2024 then MI5 chief Ken McCallum warned Russia's intelligence agencies had been ordered to generate 'sustained mayhem' on British and European streets. A number of suspicious arsons and sabotage operations were understood to have taken place. The bases are protected by radio transmitters which, when activated, transmit signals designed to overwhelm a drone's radio transmissions. This breaks the link between the drone and its controller. Other systems act as so-called 'electronic walls' which a drone is unable to fly through. Academics concluded the Kremlin is most likely to have used Orlan-10 drones that have been in service with Russian military and spy agencies since 2010. The UAV is operated by a two-person ground crew and easily fits into the deck space of a mid-sized commercial ship. The Orlan-10 has a range of over 300 miles and can fly for 12 hours and speeds of up to 80mph. Crucially, those performance parameters are consistent with the Orlan-10 being launched from a Russian shadow fleet vessel in the North Sea and flying to and from sensitive military sites in Suffolk and Norfolk. Locals also recalled hearing an engine noise matching the output of the Orlan-10's internal combustion engine – rather than the high-pitched buzz of electric motors used to power more advanced First-Person View (FPV) drones. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.