Drones have reportedly appeared near UK Ministry of Defence sites almost daily over past year

The Independent has reported that unidentified drones have appeared near UK Ministry of Defence sites almost every day, leaving the country vulnerable to growing threats from Russia and Iran.

Source: The Independent, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The Independent said, citing data obtained under freedom of information laws, that around 340 drone-related incidents had been recorded at or near Ministry of Defence sites in the year to August 2026. A total of 250 incidents were recorded in 2025, twice the 126 reported the previous year.

Experts warned that the alarming increase highlights serious shortcomings in government security measures and a lack of preparedness to counter hostile threats amid escalating activity by Russia under Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and aggression from Iran.

The UK Ministry of Defence did not provide details of who it suspects was behind the incidents. Experts, however, said hostile actors working in the interests of Moscow or Tehran are the most obvious suspects. The figures, obtained under freedom of information laws, emerged as Poland warned that the Kremlin leader is planning a drone attack on a NATO member state.

Former Tory defence minister and former Army captain Tobias Ellwood said the sharp rise in drone incidents detected in the UK suggests that the UK Armed Forces are being viewed "as a target". He added that the government is "asleep" to such threats.

Quote from Ellwood: "Here in the UK we are doing nothing about protecting our critical national infrastructure, as well as military bases, and it's such an easy way to disrupt.

At the moment these are just rogue drones, and they're passive, but it's not a huge step to then add a kinetic dimension to them to make them introduce lethality. All this points to the fact that we are not taking the rise in threat levels that our European cousins are addressing seriously at all."

Background:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, citing intelligence data, that Russia is planning hybrid attacks against countries supporting Ukraine.
• Kęstutis Budrys, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, confirmed that his country also possesses intelligence about Russia preparing hybrid attacks against Ukraine's allies after a similar warning from Donald Tusk.

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