Sixty British troops hunt for drone pilot flying devices over US Air Force bases: Fleet of 'unmanned aerial systems' are again spotted near bases in Suffolk and Norfolk amid fears of 'sinister' plot

Source: Daily Mail

Dozens of British troops have been drafted in to help the United States Air Force find out who is responsible for drones flying over three air bases in England, amid fears it could be linked to a 'sinister' plot. A small number of drones have again been detected near three bases in eastern England that are used by American forces.

Drones were spotted overnight flying over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, USAF confirmed.

About 60 British troops have now reportedly been scrambled to help USAF with its probe of the incident. Some of the troops, believed to be air defence specialists, are reportedly armed with the RAF's new ORCUS counter drone weapons,which can jam the signal to hostile devices, allowing friendly forces to take over the controls. 

A former British Army intelligence officer has told MailOnline the unmanned devices could have been deployed by Russia's spy agency, the GRU - although US military sources say the UAVs were 'not identified as hostile'.

USAF has not identified who is believed to be behind the spate of sightings however a UK military source said the activity could be related to something 'sinister'.

They would not be drawn on whether Russia was suspected to be involved. The source told the Times it could be a 'bunch of f***wits' who were responsible, 'or it could be more sinister and someone is paying them to do that'.

USAF said the number of sightings 'fluctuated and varied between the bases' but the drones have not been identified as hostile. It comes days after it was confirmed that a small number of 'unmanned aerial systems' were spotted in the vicinity of the three bases between Wednesday and Sunday.

UK authorities are working to ensure the safety of the sites. In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for USAF in Europe said: 'We can confirm there were sightings yesterday during night-time hours and can only confirm that the number fluctuated and varied between the bases over the night.

'Since November 20, there has been no impact to residents or infrastructure and they have not been identified as hostile. 'However, they are still continuously being monitored to ensure the safety and security of the installations.'A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

'We are supporting the US Air Force response.'