A UK Police helicopter nearly avoided a collision with what was initially described as a fighter jet over RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, in November 2024. However, British police logs suggest that it wasn’t a fighter jet but a drone-like object that prompted the chopper to take evasive measures.
On the evening of November 22, 2024, the crew of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) EC135 helicopter encountered what they described as fast-moving, unidentified objects that appeared to “target” and pursue the chopper, forcing them to take emergency evasive action to avoid a possible mid-air collision.
This incident occurred during a three-day spike in drone activity (about 20 sightings) across US bases in the UK, including RAF Lakenheath, nearby RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell. In fact, the EC135 helicopter was dispatched to investigate reports of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk at the time of the incident.
This event took a mysterious turn when, in June 2025, the UK Airprox Board, which investigates these types of incidents, said the object believed to be a drone was, in fact, an F-15 Eagle.
The board said the pilot likely misinterpreted the red flashing lights of an F-15 Eagle and highlighted that RAF Lakenheath had not informed the helicopter’s crew of the F-15’s presence in the region, which is why the helicopter crew was caught unaware.
However, some newly released police logs obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and published by the UK-based Daily Mail contradict these official explanations.
“They were forced to take emergency evasive action in relation to a drone which came within dangerously close proximity to them,” states an incident log from Suffolk Police, as obtained by the Daily Mail. “They had to perform an emergency dive and described that they were pursued in the dive by two drones who matched their speed, approx 165 knots, and then pursued them for several minutes out of the area.”
“They feel that drones have targeted them and chased them off at approximately 140 knots [161mph],” it added. The object had “pursued them,” so “they were forced to take emergency evasive action” and “emergency dive.”
Moreover, documents the Daily Mail obtained state that an NPAS EC135 helicopter was forced to take emergency evasive action on November 22, 2024, after two swift craft “targeted” and pursued the aircraft over RAF Lakenheath.
An anonymous UK military insider who watched the full 30-minute video taken by the helicopter’s infrared camera said, “In the 30-minute video with pilot audio, nobody mentions F-15s.” Further, the source added, “They only talk about the drones. They’re basically mirroring the helicopter’s movements. How fast are the drones going? That they’re basically forcing them out of the area.”
Earlier, reports stated that the two aircraft came dangerously close at one point, within 1,900 feet (about 579 meters) of each other.
Though the incident remains shrouded in mystery, Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and aviation expert, said, “On this occasion, there were, without question, several unidentified aerial vehicles observed by both US Air Force and RAF forces, conducting unknown but most likely hostile state-coordinated activity over the air bases in question.”
Several residents of areas close to the base have also allegedly admitted to seeing what they described as “drones” on that fateful day.
RAF Lakenheath is home to the USAF’s 48th Fighter Wing, which has participated in post-9/11 operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The USAF describes it as the foundation of its combat capability in Europe.
The sighting of drones over this facility assumes significance, especially because it will likely house or already has US nuclear weapons.
Interestingly, there is also a growing dissonance, as several witnesses and residents have said the objects spotted were Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), not just ordinary drones.
For instance, a witness referred to one of the unidentified flying objects as a “tic-tac,” an oblong-shaped object that was also seen by naval aviators in the past.
Further, a former police officer, Mike Morgan, who has been attempting to extract the video of the incident, said, “I’ve spoken to a number of witnesses who are adamant these things were very unusual and not your standard drones.”
While it may be up to authorities to investigate the object in question and publish more details, the police logs indicate that the “near collision” occurred during a surge in drone activity. Therefore, this incident highlights the growing security threat posed by drones.
Drone Menace Continues
The sighting of drones over military bases has somewhat become common in recent years.
In December 2023, a mysterious fleet of drones entered restricted US airspace and swarmed the Langley Air Force Base for about 17 days.
The drones would start arriving every day between 45 and 60 minutes after nightfall, according to reports at the time. The sightings over Langley AFB were so concerning that they prompted US Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly to visit the base himself.
In December 2024, some unidentified drones were spotted over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on the intervening night of December 13-14, forcing the facility to shut down.
Besides the US and the US bases in the UK, these drones poked Germany as well. In August 2024, German officials flagged unusual drone activity over its sensitive nuclear facilities, expressing concern about espionage. At the time, the German publication BILD reported that high-speed drones had been observed flying over nuclear power plants in the industrial area located in Brunsbüttel, Germany.
The drone incursions over military bases across Europe have seen a significant uptick since September 2025, when severe Russian drones entered Polish and Romanian airspace.
Unknown drones were spotted over Sweden on September 23, particularly over the Karlskrona Archipelago naval base. Additionally, drones were sighted over Ørland Air Station in Norway, which houses the F-35 Lightning II aircraft.
Separately, drone sightings were reported near multiple military installations, including Denmark’s largest facility, Karup Air Base. Danish officials said that the incursions appeared to be a “hybrid attack.”
Meanwhile, the German defence ministry confirmed that drones had been spotted flying over the Erding military base near Munich Airport.
More recently, on November 22, 2025, the Dutch military opened fire on intruding unidentified drones over Volkel Air Base in the east of the country. As per reports, there have been several incidents of unidentified drone flights in the vicinity of military locations in the Netherlands and nearby Belgium in recent weeks.
These drone sightings are part of a broader problem of suspicious drone activity linked to potential spying or sabotage.
In response, European leaders are working to build a drone wall to protect the NATO territory using cost-effective drones. The drone wall, which is expected to initially extend from the Baltic states to the Black Sea, has been characterized as an integrated, coordinated, multi-layered defense structure. It will use radars, sensors, jamming, and weapons to neutralize the drone threat.
NATO has also floated the ‘Eastern Flank Deterrence Line’ (EFDL), led by the Allies and supported by the US Army Europe and Africa, to defeat adversary mass and momentum with low-cost, attritable uncrewed systems, AI-enabled targeting, and layered defenses.
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