Experts said swarms of drones seen over three US air bases in Norfolk and Suffolk in November 2024 were likely launched from Russian shadow fleet cargo ships. The sightings centred on RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell, with the Ministry of Defence Police later failing to identify any suspects.
About 170 sightings were reported between 20 and 26 November 2024, with swarms of up to 20 drones at a time entering low and leaving at higher altitudes. The USAF said at the time that "small unmanned aerial systems continue to be spotted" near the bases.
IISS on the North Sea route
The International Institute for Strategic Studies said the unmanned aerial vehicles were likely launched from Russian-linked commercial vessels in the North Sea. The IISS also said the current architecture used to defend against unauthorised drones does not yet match the threat, and said the Kremlin's campaign is "exploiting the gap between what European militaries could do and what their governments were prepared to authorise."
That assessment tied the November 2024 sightings to a wider pattern. The report said the surveillance campaign also targeted RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and sites in France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
RAF Feltwell and the near-miss
The airspace problem was not limited to simple sightings. A police helicopter sent to investigate reported a near-miss with what was later identified as a US F-15 fighter jet, and some of the drones were said to be flying low over runway approaches. The Hav Dolphin was docked near Hull in the Humber estuary at the time, sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, while another Russian-linked vessel, the Seasons 1 tanker, was in the North Sea near Essex.
No verified footage of the drones around the bases has emerged in the public domain, despite the reported sightings and alerts. The inquiry left the same practical gap that the report described: the sightings were logged, but the chain from ship to drone, and who directed the campaign, was not established.
UK air defences
For RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell, the immediate issue is not a single unresolved incident but the scale and method of the November 2024 campaign. About 170 sightings in one week, across three air bases, left UK and US authorities working from reports of low-altitude incursions rather than a recovered launch platform or identified operator.
