Suspected drone activity prompted a security lockdown at Royal Air Force Lakenheath on Friday evening, according to a Sky News report cited by News NOW.
The security alert at the Suffolk air base sounded at approximately 18:30 local time, with personnel instructed to seek immediate shelter in red-lettered internal messages, News NOW reported. United States Air Force security forces responded to unauthorized drone movements above the facility on November 13, though no personnel, aircraft, or infrastructure sustained damage, an Air Force spokesperson stated.
Local Member of Parliament Nick Timothy confirmed that the situation had been resolved without posing any threat to the wider public, News NOW reported. RedState said that the installation has since returned to normal operations while the operators of the drones remain unidentified.
Video footage posted online appears to show air raid sirens sounding within the last hour at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, United Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/KDxeoEU75G
Dronewatch Europe pointed out that public evidence confirming actual drone participation is lacking, raising the possibility of misidentification during previous alerts at the base.
The security scare follows the relocation of more than a dozen combat jets from nearby RAF Mildenhall earlier in the week due to security threats linked to Iran, according to News NOW and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). Brownstone Worldwide reported that British authorities are also investigating a separate Iran-linked security plot targeting RAF Fairford.
United States Air Force officials previously reported repeated drone sightings near the Lakenheath, Mildenhall, and Feltwell bases in November 2024, noting at the time that the craft were not classified as hostile. Approximately 60 British service members joined the subsequent military investigation, though no group claimed responsibility and the origin of the drones was never established.
Prosecutors said that the operatives orchestrated a September incident near RAF Fairford involving suspicious vehicles.
One dual Iranian-Iraqi citizen faces charges of maintaining contact with British co-conspirators from a New York jail, while two others operate from Iran, according to DW. Tehran has categorically denied any involvement in the Fairford incident.
British police arrested seven men in connection with suspicious microbuses spotted near the air base, DW reported. Three of those suspects face charges of planning attacks across Europe under the alias Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI).
Following the September security breach, the United States withdrew all bombers from RAF Fairford, with President Donald Trump citing unspecified threats. In recent months, the United States deployed B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base to the Middle East for strikes against Iran, while in July, Iran said that any base used for aggression against Iranian territory represents a legitimate target for its forces.
RAF Lakenheath went into lockdown following suspected drone activity, while aircraft were previously moved from RAF Mildenhall and RAF Fairford due to security threats.
United States prosecutors said that a group operating under the pseudonym Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility for 18 attacks across Europe in the spring of 2026.
United States Air Force officials confirmed that no personnel, aircraft, or base infrastructure sustained any damage during the November 13 incident.
Worth a look