Nov 26, 2025
Written By [Christopher Sharp](https://www.liberationtimes.com/?author=610434e320e3e945538177b1)
Above: A screengrab of the helicopter video shows a small object, which appears as a tiny blob on the infrared camera, slowly moving towards the top right of the screen
Written by Michael Morgan – 26 November 2025
– Witnesses – including locals, plane-spotters, military personnel and police – described fast-moving, highly luminous objects with unusual flight characteristics and endurance, which drone experts say do not match off-the-shelf systems.
– A National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter encountered one or more of these objects on 22 November 2024, reporting emergency evasive action and being “pursued by a large drone” at close proximity.
– NPAS submitted a Mandatory Occurrence Report to the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), yet initial FOI responses and CAA statements appeared contradictory about whether a “drone” was actually reported.
– When the UKAB report was finally released in June 2025, it concluded the NPAS crew had misidentified a Lakenheath-based F-15, despite unresolved questions over TCAS returns, lighting and the reported 100-ft separation.
– NPAS and military call logs, along with a still from the helicopter’s FLIR footage, suggest the presence of an unidentified object, but the full 30-minute infrared video remains withheld by the MoD and MoD Police.
– The incident appears to have been investigated primarily by the USAF, with no clear use of independent drone/UAV expertise and no meaningful coordination disclosed between UKAB and MoD Police.
– New UK drone no-fly zones over US and joint US/UK sites, the absence of a RAF QRA response, and ongoing FOI stonewalling by UK and US authorities have fuelled further questions about what was really in the skies over East Anglia.
Above: Photo taken at RAF Lakenheath by [Jonny Gios](https://unsplash.com/@supergios?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/a-military-plane-taking-off-ewkkuulH-zk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)
In November 2024, multiple ‘drone’ incursions were reported over the US air bases at Lakenheath, Mildenhall and Feltwell, as well as several other UK bases; none have been satisfactorily explained.
This month marks the first anniversary of the so-called drone sightings over the US air bases.
To date, the ten or so nights of incursions remain officially unexplained, much like similar events in the United States, and there are now widespread reports of ‘drones’ across several north-western European countries, continuing right up to November 2025.
In many respects, the more recent sightings in Europe have taken attention away from those in England last year, especially as the UK Government has sent RAF Regiment counter-UAS teams to assist their NATO allies in Denmark and Belgium.
The 2024 sightings at the three British air bases, which all lie within a few miles of one another, are still unexplained, with speculation repeatedly falling upon Russia, although no credible evidence at all has been provided.
Although the sightings at these bases are well-known, from my enquiries, I believe there were sightings at 6-7 other British bases last November, including a number of RAF-staffed flying bases.
Witnesses on the Ground and in the Air
To summarise events at the three US bases, dozens, if not hundreds of witnesses from the local populace, plane-spotters, the military and the police reported seeing what were described as drones.
From the various witness accounts I have collated, the descriptions vary from green, red, orange or white lights, but on one occasion, there was no illumination – just a dark object. Sometimes a light looked like a plasma ball, while others were more defined. Some were silent, while others did actually sound like drones.
The UK drone community, including experts in the field whom I have spoken to, all agree these were not off-the-shelf drones and probably not the type they could build themselves.
These ‘drones’, if we continue to use that descriptor, were anything but regulation drones.
The brightness of their lights and their airborne duration all far exceeded that of most regular drones. The battery life alone would be substantial and would need large energy units to perform such displays.
Many in the drone community believe they are being unfairly blamed and say most of these sightings are misidentifications of distant aircraft or stars.
While this may be the case in some sightings, many of the witnesses I have spoken to are incandescent when they hear such claims. The witnesses live or work at or adjacent to the bases, they know the aircraft, their sounds, lights, shapes and the night sky.
To many, it is insulting to challenge their perception of reality – what they saw was very, very unusual. They tell me they have never seen anything like these objects before or since their sightings in November 2024, and each witness would like to know what they saw.
The NPAS Helicopter Encounter
The sightings might have faded into obscurity were it not for one particular report – the account given by the crew of a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter near the US bases on 22 November 2024, which has driven many, myself included, to investigate the case in detail.
In December 2024, Chris Sharp and Josh Boswell wrote in the Daily Mail that a senior officer told them:
“The drones were recorded flying at 120 mph near the base, chased a police helicopter and appeared to be controlled remotely using frequencies outside the normal bands used for military or civilian drones. The drones were flying with no lights. When they were close to the site, they were turning their lights on going, “I’m here” and as far as I know, not one piece of our equipment could bring it down or spot it”.
Their source added that the ‘drones’ were flying in a set formation and immediately locked onto an approaching police helicopter. When the helicopter climbed, the ‘drones’ climbed.
When the helicopter tried to leave the area, they followed it. The drones were faster than any drone seen before, and one was tracked doing 170 mph.
I contacted a researcher and former police detective like myself – Gary Heseltine. He informed me, another source, whom we will not name, said the helicopter followed the drone-like objects, but one did something which cannot be explained.
We cannot state publicly what was reported to protect the source, but its actions are a major concern regarding flight and public safety.
An examination of flight data shows the helicopter entering the vicinity of the air bases at 21:36 hours local time.
The helicopter, a Eurocopter EC135-T2, has a maximum speed of 178 mph, just above the alleged speed of the drone.
Its route, when plotted on a map, took it past Newmarket and on towards RAF Lakenheath. It then made an abrupt turn back towards Newmarket, where it spent 10-15 minutes with fluctuating speeds, directions and altitudes, while making a series of erratic manoeuvres.
Call logs from Norfolk and Suffolk Police have two interesting entries:
‘Forced to take emergency evasive action in relation to a drone which came dangerously… (rest of text was missing)”.
>
‘NPAS is withdrawing due to drone coming close to them.’
When the police were asked for further information, it was denied using Freedom of Information exemptions of National Security, Inv
*[Read full article at Liberation Times]*