Experts fear a series of drone incidents over top-secret UK and US nuclear bases could have a “sinister” motive – with one claiming the “full story” is yet to come out.
The unsettling pattern of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) started with a bizarre swarm over Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base during Christmas 2023, escalating to numerous reported incursions this month. Wild theories from the UFO community about alien intervention have been spurred by sightings at several high-security military installations known to house nukes on both sides of the pond.
However, Professor David Dunn from the University of Birmingham offers a far more grounded – yet disturbing – assessment. With expertise in political science and international studies, he suggests these UAP episodes point to drones employed by a belligerent state power, demonstrating NATO’s defence vulnerabilities and unnerving the troops stationed there.
Speaking to science filmmaker Simon Holland about the nightly drone flights over NATO bases, he stated: “It’s disruptive first of all it’s demonstrating and signalling vulnerability and capability and it’s also about preparation and signalling that preparation.”
In particular, he says, the drones are not only hovering over aircraft on the ground at these bases, they’ve also being seen lurking near servicemen’s married quarters at bases such as Kirkwall. He added: “This is not just one or two drones like in Gatwick airport a few years ago. This is a coordinated incursion by a whole variety of different drones that are clearly part of a plan by a sophisticated actor.”
“As well as being disruptive, it’s sending a signal saying ‘We have the capacity to actually put assets over your most sensitive air bases where you operate your most sophisticated and strategically important aircraft for the defence of Europe through NATO, and we have the capacity to fly over and and both disrupt your air operations to actually identify those assets.”
Professor Dunn noted that apart from the drones’ ability to take detailed photographs of the NATO aircraft, they can potentially be used as offensive weapons to disable them.
He said the drones are “operating over B52 bases, over F35 and F-15 bases and it’s actually showing a capacity to hit those things on the ground”.
Professor Dunn has expressed concern over the recent surge in drone activity over RAF airfields and US forward bases in the UK, which he suspects could be linked to Ukraine’s use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles against Russia. He described the drone incursions over RAF married quarters as “particularly sinister”.
He also noted that no one has claimed responsibility for these incursions, suggesting that the actions themselves are intended to send a message without needing to be explicitly stated in the media. However, UFO expert Nick Pope is more sceptical about the idea of drone incursions being hostile Russian activity.
He said: “All these sightings could legitimately be categorised as UAP until the point that any of them are identified. That being said, the most likely possibility is that we’re dealing with drones. Perhaps some are operated by plane-spotters, but as most of these people abide by CAA rules on drone operation, it’s more likely to be the work of irresponsible hobbyists.
“While adversary activity can’t be ruled out – not least because the incursions came to light at around the same time that Ukraine launched UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to strike the Kursk region in Russia – there’s currently no evidence of this.”
The Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence have consistently downplayed any threat from these unidentified objects. However, Nick emphasised the likelihood of incomplete disclosure: “We’re almost certainly not getting the full story from the authorities, because some of what’s going on may be classified.
“This would arise if any of this activity is attributable to our own black project technology, but could also apply to activity related to drones operated by adversaries like Russia or China.”
Nick indicated operational secrecy as a key factor, adding: “That’s because UK and US authorities don’t want to tip adversaries off about the effectiveness of things like site surveillance or drone countermeasures. So if a drone is brought down with an EMP weapon, the authorities might keep this secret, to keep the operators guessing.”
Nick also did not dismiss the possibility of psychology playing a role, suggesting “mass hysteria” could amplify the issue, with people potentially mistaking mundane objects such as “Chinese lanterns, aircraft lights, or even bright stars and planets” for enemy – or extraterrestrial – incursions.