Royal Air Force jets have experienced near-misses with two unidentified drones this year, with both incidents occurring within days of each other during simulated combat training and an air-to-air refuelling operation over the North Sea, the Telegraph has reported.
Incidents off the East Coast
The RAF notified police of the sightings, with multiple external investigations now believed to be taking place. The revelations emerge amid growing concerns about hostile nations deploying drones for surveillance operations against Western targets.
Several weeks afterwards, US military forces were placed on heightened alert following the detection of unidentified drones above Fort McNair, a military installation in Washington DC housing senior government officials. Defence analysts stated earlier this year that drones observed above US airbases in Norfolk and Suffolk were connected to a Russian vessel positioned offshore.
Details of the Close Encounters
The RAF incidents also occurred just days prior to the commencement of US military action against Iran.
The Telegraph report indicates the first close encounter happened on February 18, when an RAF Airbus Voyager tanker was conducting refuelling operations with a Typhoon fighter jet near Cromer, Norfolk. The unknown object was observed at 17,000ft, exceeding the legal altitude restriction for commercial drones by more than 40 times. It approached the tanker so closely that the pilot reflexively ducked.
The second incident took place on February 23, when a Typhoon jet was conducting dogfight exercises with another aircraft approximately 30 miles off Humberside. The pilot observed a black circular object, roughly the size of a car tyre, pass overhead at an altitude of around 300ft above the Typhoon.
Regulatory and Security Implications
Under current regulations, drones are legally prohibited from flying above 400 feet.
While there is no evidence connecting the sightings to hostile nations, the reported drones were operating at heights well beyond the reach of most commercially available craft and neither appeared on radar.
Any civilian drone operator entering RAF training zones off the east coast would be required to seek advance authorisation from military authorities, raising the possibility that the drones could have been deployed by a potentially hostile state.
The Kremlin has previously faced accusations of conducting a drone surveillance campaign targeting military installations across the UK and Europe.
A report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies revealed the drone campaign took place between August 2024 and February 2026, concluding that the craft were most likely launched from Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers used to transport sanctioned fuel. The report determined that Russian intelligence had carried out the drone campaign "with substantial impunity... representing both a series of tactical successes for the Kremlin and a strategic failure of allied air defence". Incidents included drones flying at low altitude above RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and at least two further air force installations in England which host US operations.
