British troops given powers to shoot down drones on sight amid rising Russia-linked threats: Report

British troops will be given new powers to shoot down drones threatening UK military bases, the Telegraph reported on Sunday, citing an upcoming announcement on Monday from British defence minister John Healey.

Healey is expected to unveil his vision on how to protect Britain's most critical military bases in response to a growing threat posed by Russia, the newspaper said.

Although the new powers will initially apply only for military sites, the British government was "not ruling out working to extend those powers" to other important sites like airports, the Telegraph said, citing a source.


Currently troops can use specialist counter-drone equipment which can track incoming drones, hijack signals, and divert them, according to the Telegraph. The new proposal will give soldiers or Ministry of Defence Police a "kinetic option" to shoot them on site, which they can only do now in extreme circumstances, the Telegraph further added.

Healey's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Britain's defence ministry could not immediately be reached.

Earlier in October, Britain said that it had two Royal Air Force aircraft fly a 12-hour mission alongside U.S. and NATO forces to patrol the border of Russia, saying that the operation followed incursions into the airspaces of NATO countries including Poland, Romania and Estonia.

Drones have increasingly disrupted airspace across Europe in recent times, raising alarm over the repeated incursions of uncrewed aerial vehicles, prompting airport shutdowns and flight cancellations.

Fingers have been pointed at Russia as tensions with the West have risen over its war in Ukraine, though Moscow has denied involvement.

At least 18 suspect drones have been spotted in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany by monitoring service Enigma since September 16, many though not all in the vicinity of airports.