British troops will be given new powers to shoot down drones threatening UK and US military bases with plans to extend them to protecting airports.
Defence secretary John Healey is set to unveil his vision on how to protect Britain’s most critical military bases in response to a growing threat posed by Russia today in his Mansion House speech.
Although the new powers will initially apply only to military sites, the government was “not ruling out working to extend those powers” to other important sites like airports, the Telegraph said, citing a source.
Currently, troops can use specialist counter-drone equipment, which can track incoming drones, hijack signals, and divert them.
The new proposal will give soldiers or Ministry of Defence Police a “kinetic option” to shoot them on site, which they can only do now in extreme circumstances.
Healey’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Britain’s defence ministry could not immediately be reached.
Earlier in October, Britain said that it had two Royal Air Force aircraft fly a 12-hour mission alongside U.S. and NATO forces to patrol the border of Russia, saying that the operation followed incursions into the airspaces of NATO countries, including Poland, Romania and Estonia.
Drones have increasingly disrupted airspace across Europe in recent times, raising alarm over the repeated incursions of uncrewed aerial vehicles, prompting airport shutdowns and flight cancellations.
Fingers have been pointed at Russia as tensions with the West have risen over its war in Ukraine, though Moscow has denied involvement.
At least 18 suspect drones have been spotted in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany by monitoring service Enigma since September 16, many though not all in the vicinity of airports.
