British troops given powers to shoot down drones near bases to counter Russia threat
British troops will be given new powers to shoot down drones that threaten military bases, the defense secretary said, and also signaled plans to strengthen the NATO alliance in a major defense speech in London.
Addressing the lord mayor’s annual defense and security conference at Mansion House, John Healey argued that Britain’s role was to be “democracy’s most reliable ally”, warning that “not since the end of the Second World War has the security of Europe been at risk of inter-state conflict”.
Reaffirming Britain’s commitment to NATO, the defense secretary said the government was left with a responsibility to “strengthen itself further” and vowed to “develop greater readiness to fight together”.
Speaking just days after the US president signaled he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest in the coming weeks about the Ukraine war, Mr Healey said: “As President Trump leads the peace effort… Here in Europe, we stand ready to lead the work to secure it for the long term.”
New powers to shoot down drones will initially apply only to military areas, sources said Telegram the government “was not refusing to work towards extending these powers to other important locations such as airports”.
New powers to protect military bases will be included in the Armed Forces Bill, with Mr Healey vowing to “do what is necessary to keep British people safe”.
“As we speak, we are developing new legal powers to shoot down unidentified drones over UK military sites,” he added.
“This is undeniably a new era of threats. The world is more unstable, more uncertain, more dangerous.”
“Not since the end of the Second World War has Europe’s security faced the risk of interstate conflict.”
Currently, troops can use specialized counter-drone equipment that can track, hijack, and redirect incoming drones.
Sources said the new proposal would give soldiers or Ministry of Defense Police a “kinetic option” to shoot them in the field, which they would now only be able to do in extreme cases.
Mr Healey argued in his speech on Monday that he “has always believed that Britain’s strategic strength comes from our allies and that Britain should be democracy’s most reliable ally”.
Speaking about NATO, the defense minister pledged to “develop greater readiness to fight together” and “deter together” in the coming years, adding: “We will set new standards for how allies can work together.”
He also noted that the threats facing the alliance “require that we not only coordinate our forces but be prepared to unite.”
Mr Healey added: “Over the next five years we will make this a hallmark of our New Deal for European security.
“Joint operations and interoperable standards, deploying combined forces together, deterring together, strengthening our alliances, strengthening NATO and strengthening our deterrence to face this new era.”
The UK sent specialist counter-drone experts to Denmark in September following suspicious activity; Last year, unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles were detected more than once at three air bases used by US forces in the UK (RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk).
Drones have been increasingly disrupting airspace in Europe lately, raising alarm about repeated attacks by uncrewed aircraft, leading to airport closures and flight cancellations.
Russia’s extensive use of technology in its invasion of Ukraine has resulted in the deployment of more than 3,000 unidirectional attack aircraft so far in October, after 5,500 in September.
The Ministry of Defense has been contacted for comment.
