A police helicopter had to perform an emergency maneuver during a frightening confrontation with unknown high-speed 'drones' above a...
A police helicopter had to perform an emergency maneuver during a frightening confrontation with unknown high-speed 'drones' above a US airfield last year — an event that officials later downplayed as just a passing fighter jet.
However, recently released footage and incident reports from the event on November 22, 2024, now present a significantly different, and much more concerning, account, the Daily Mail can reveal exclusively.
Witness also referred to one of the unidentified flying objects as a 'tic-tac' - the same elongated shape reported by Navy pilots in a nowinfamous 2004 encounter.
The Daily Mail acquired photographs captured from aNational Police Air Service (NPAS) EC135 helicopter, part of an unidentified aircraft, which was reported to have 'targeted' and nearly collided with the helicopter in mid-air aroundRAFLakenheath, a United States military installation located in England.
The event took place during weeks of statements regarding drones and unknown objects entering the airspace above US military installations inNew Jersey, the broader northeast, and abroad.
A UK aviation safety board's report stated that the helicopter's near-miss was caused by pilots mistaking an American F-15 fighter jet in the vicinity for something else.
However, British police records made public through the Freedom of Information Act mention several high-tech drones "targeting" and seemingly chasing the police helicopter at fast speeds.
"They had to perform emergency evasive maneuvers due to a drone that approached them at a dangerously near distance," stated an incident report from Suffolk Police, detailing a discussion with the helicopter pilots.
They had to execute an emergency descent and reported that they were chased during the dive by two drones that kept up with their speed of approximately 165 knots, continuing the pursuit for several minutes outside the area.
They believe drones have focused on them and driven them away at around 140 knots [161mph].
A British military official, who has watched the full 30-minute footage recorded by the helicopter's infrared camera, stated there was more to the event than just a near-miss with a fighter aircraft.
"In a 30-minute video featuring pilot audio, no one refers to F-15s," the source stated.
They only discuss the drones. How they are essentially replicating the helicopter's actions. How quickly the drones are moving. That they are effectively pushing them out of the area.
The source mentioned that the video depicts one object chasing the craft as it executes movements that are beyond the capabilities of a fighter jet.
A fixed-wing aircraft is visible in the video, performing a corkscrew maneuver," the insider stated. "An F-15 is not capable of making such a tight corkscrew turn.
The Daily Mail acquired a brief clip from the helicopter footage depicting a tiny object, barely visible as a speck on the infrared camera, gradually heading toward the upper right corner of the display.
Local police reports from November 20 to 22, 2024, indicate multiple drone encounters at three US Air Force facilities located in the English counties of Suffolk and Norfolk: RAF Feltwell, RAF Lakenheath, and RAF Mildenhall.
"Over the past two nights, approximately 20 drones have been seen flying over RAF Mildenhall, Feltwell, and Lakenheath. This occurred between 1800 and 0000 hours," stated a Suffolk Police report from November 21.
"They mentioned that because of the size of those drones, the pilots could be 'miles and miles' away," the log stated, with "they" seemingly referring to UK military police safeguarding the airbases.
'Mildenhall, Lakenheath, Feltwell - it is thought that 10-15 drones have been present at each location - and they seem not to be "recreational drones,"' the logs stated.
A police report from Lakenheath mentioned that an officer was equipped with 'night vision goggles and could spot 5-6 drones [near the A1065 highway] returning over the airfield'.
An individual listed as an 'informant' in the records shared with police that they observed 'several drones' which were 'quite big and created a significant amount of noise'.
The witness in the November 22 records detailed their observation near the airbase as "large stationary objects - tictacs - they are not birds."
"The drones are brightly illuminated — they are not attempting to conceal themselves and are currently flying very close to the ground," another entry from November 22 noted.
The informant opened the door of his home while speaking to me, and the person on the call could hear one of the drones flying overhead. It sounded like an airplane.
The unmanned aerial vehicles are hovering above the Informant's land in both directions.
A November 21 crime report that outlined the events mentioned that there were '10-15 drones hovering near bases and possibly entering the base's airspace.'
"This is the third time this week, as reported by the MOD police, and the US base has mentioned that they have been forced to halt aircraft operations because of crossing flight paths," the report noted.
The inquiry was transferred to the UK Ministry of Defence Police, which has yet to release the results of its investigation.
The police records were acquired via a Freedom of Information Act submission by researcher Rowland Hume, who provided the information to the Daily Mail.
Mike Morgan, a former senior police investigator who has also been studying the event, stated to the Daily Mail that he was dissatisfied with the absence of openness from officials.
There are numerous uncertainties regarding events that occurred in November 2024.
"I've encountered repeated attempts by officials to dodge even the simplest questions, like how many people have been arrested or how many drones have been confiscated," Morgan stated.
What makes this inquiry so confidential?
The event was mostly dismissed when the UK Airprox Board, the official organization responsible for investigating mid-air close calls, releaseda reportreaching the conclusion that the 'drones' observed by the NPAS team were in fact the lights from a US Air Force F-15 Eagle aircraft.
Radar information mentioned in the report indicated that the helicopter and aircraft came as close as 1,700 feet to one another. However, the report stated that no other unidentified objects were detected on radar.
A trained British meteorologist named Stuart Onyeche, employed by a defense firm and having studied the event, informed the Daily Mail that he thinks the fighter jet and police helicopter were both chasing the sophisticated drones.
"I tend to believe the first information and evaluation provided by the seasoned helicopter pilots mentioned in these records, which indicated they had to perform evasive maneuvers because of the nearness of an unmanned drone," Onyeche stated.
"It is undeniable that an F-15 was also nearby, as mentioned in the airprox report, but an unresolved issue remains: what was the F-15 assigned to do or search for?" he added.
Did the helicopter and F-15 truly head towards the unknown 'drones'?
Incursions into the airspace of U.S. bases, both within the country and overseas, have indicated the use of sophisticated technology that is challenging existing drone countermeasures employed by officials.
A collaborative report from the FBI, U.S. Department of Defense, and NASA, acquired by the Daily Mail last year, indicated that their detection and signal jamming systems were unable to prevent intrusions by sophisticated drones, including at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.
The facility was overwhelmed by numerous drones for several weeks in December 2023, causing a security crisis.
The event remained confidential until it was disclosed by a defense magazine.The Warzone in March 2024.
Read more- What is the reason behind the unsettling presence of unidentified drones near RAF facilities in the UK and US Army installations in New Jersey?
- Are there dark schemes behind the strange drone appearances at important UK airfields utilized by the US Air Force?
- What is causing strange drones to appear in the skies over New Jersey, and might advanced technology allow them to remain undetected?
- Are unmarked drones flying near US military installations in the UK connected to a covert Russian intelligence scheme?
- Could enigmatic drones flying above New Jersey mark the next phase of America's fascination, or are they simply common gadgets misunderstood by anxious observers?
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