Should the mystery drones over US bases be shot down?

The US warned yesterday it reserved the right to defend its air bases in the United Kingdom against invasive drone flights. The warning followed mysterious appearances of drones over four American bases in Suffolk, Norfolk and Gloucestershire . “Small unmanned aerial systems continue to be spotted in the vicinity of and over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Fairford and RAF Feltwell since November 20,”, a spokesperson for US Air Forces in Europe, said. “To safeguard operational security, we do not discuss specific protection measures. However, we retain the right to protect our installations,” the spokesperson said. Investigators attempting to unravel the mysterious drone appearances have the challenge of judging whether or not they have hostile intent. “Unfortunately, it's very difficult. Hostile intent would likely focus on the most sensitive areas of the bases, but many amateurs would want to snoop there also, “Mark Cancian, a former senior Pentagon official, said. “If a drone comes down, it's possible to see where it came from. It might have some uniquely identifiable parts such as sensors. On the other hand, spy agencies can buy highly capable drones at Amazon just like anyone else,” he said. Why haven’t the drones been shot down, as a precaution? “In the US they are driven by safety considerations. If a drone is endangering people or aircraft on the base, then base personnel would take action.,” Cancian said. “However, those actions are often taking place in heavily populated areas. What goes up, must come down. So if base personnel start shooting at drones, it would be easy to hurt someone in the neighbourhood. That's likely why they haven't taken action yet.,” he said. The US has begun fielding non-kinetic, counter-UAS (unmanned aerial systems) weapons. Some have been sent to Ukraine. They are expected to become common at airports and military airfields in the US. “I suspect that the US can take action if there's an imminent threat but security in general belongs to the UK,” Cancian said. What if the mystery drones are foreign--operated? “It’s possible that the drones are operated by adversaries like Russia. However, I think the likelihood is that this is an amateur snooper. The Russians have satellites that can track what goes on at bases,” Cancian said. “The only reconnaissance advantage of a drone for them is to get inside a building. So that might be the key distinguishing factor. There are lots of amateurs out there who track the goings on at military bases, sometimes for quite benign reasons like gathering information for war games, and sometime for malicious reasons,” he said.