Russian “sleeper agents” could be orchestrating mysterious drone swarms spotted over military bases in Britain and America, a senior defence expert has warned.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former head of the UK’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, claims the incursions may be part of a coordinated Kremlin operation to probe Western defences.
The veteran commander believes Putin may have activated covert operatives to conduct brazen surveillance operations, leaving officials scrambling for answers on both sides of the Atlantic.
His warning comes as panicked American officials call for a state of emergency amid hundreds of drone sightings across the US east coast in recent weeks.
Russian ‘sleeper agents’ could be orchestrating mysterious drone swarm
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Meanwhile, multiple US military bases in England have reported drones brazenly circling their facilities, including RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which is set to house American nuclear weapons.
Drones have been spotted hovering over multiple US air bases in England, including RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, as well as RAF Feltwell in Norfolk.
The sightings, first reported on November 20, saw swarms of unmanned aircraft circling these strategic locations.
Further drone activity was documented on November 22, with up to four drones brazenly monitoring RAF Feltwell and RAF Lakenheath.
The timing of these incursions has raised particular concern, as RAF Lakenheath is set to become home to American nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cold War.
UK defence sources have insisted there is “no evidence” linking the drone activities to Russia or other hostile states like China or Iran.
However, former British UFO investigator Nick Pope said he could not “rule out” the possibility of Russian and Chinese involvement in these recent incidents.
Col de Bretton-Gordon warns that sleeper agents could be paying young individuals substantial sums to operate drones and gather intelligence.
“You can approach people who could do a service for you, and I expect you can pay some young kid or young person money to do it. I would have thought the Russian and Chinese were paying quite a lot,” he told the Daily Mail.
The colonel likened the strategy to “espionage 2.0”, suggesting operatives are collecting data on response times, troop numbers and equipment.
He drew parallels with tactics used by Syria’s Assad regime, which tested Western responses before escalating attacks.
“They are testing to see where the weaknesses and vulnerabilities are,” he warned.
RAF Lakenheath
Wikimedia
The drones could be gathering intelligence to lay groundwork for potential future attacks on Western bases abroad, according to the defence expert.
In New Jersey, state senator Jon Bramnick has called for a state of emergency amid the surge in drone sightings.
The Republican senator claimed the US government was withholding information about the mysterious aircraft.
“Whatever these drones are doing, the government really doesn’t want us to know,” Bramnick told NewsNation, urging the Pentagon to “come clean with the American public”.
Drone sightings have now been reported along the northern East Coast, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Sightings have reached as far west as Los Angeles.
The White House’s national security communications advisor John Kirby has insisted the sightings pose no “national security or public safety threat”.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has stated he knows of “no foreign involvement”.
A new bill before the US Senate would enhance federal agencies’ authority to track drones and allow local authorities to disable or seize them without operator consent.
Recent naval activity has heightened concerns about Russian surveillance operations near British waters.
Last month, a suspected Russian spy ship, the Yantar, was detected lurking in the Irish Sea directly above vital undersea energy cables linking Britain and Ireland.
The vessel, which Moscow describes as an “oceanographic research vessel”, was equipped with mini submarines.
Days before the drone sightings at RAF bases, the Yantar had been observed by Norwegian, US, French and British forces accompanying a Russian warship through the English Channel.
On November 14, RAF Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled from Lossiemouth in Scotland to intercept a Russian Tupolev-142 reconnaissance aircraft over the North Sea.
Previous incidents have included unmanned “spy boats” being discovered near nuclear submarine bases, with one solar-powered Wave Glider drone found near Faslane.
The ownership of these unmanned vessels remains unclaimed, despite similar variants being used by UK and US military forces.
The Yantar had been observed accompanying a Russian warship through the English Channel
WIkimedia
Nick Pope, a former UK Ministry of Defence official who headed the UFO desk, suggested China’s drone capabilities may now match or exceed those of the US.
“Some defence commentators have said China is level with – or even ahead of – the US in drone technology,” he said.
Pope noted the timing of UK drone incidents coincided with Britain’s authorisation of Storm Shadow weapons against Russian territory.
He suggested the drones could be launched from commercial vessels or submarines operated by foreign governments.
Col de Bretton-Gordon warned the incidents signal a new era of tension.
“It’s a bit of a wake up call that we are in this pre-war age or this ‘third nuclear age’. We are back into this Cold War, which is turning hot,” he said.
The Ministry of Defence responded: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the US Air Force response.”