The United Kingdom has followed NATO and the European Union by expanding its policy on drones. The move follows four UK air bases—used by U.S. forces—reporting unexplained UAV sightings last year. In response, British soldiers have been granted new powers to shoot down drones threatening military bases.
The aim of the regulation is to enable soldiers to respond more quickly and decisively to potential threats. Although this will initially apply just to military facilities, it could be extended to civilian sites such as airports.
Defence Secretary John Healey—who previously signed off on the supply of military drones to Ukraine—is scheduled to announce the plan in a speech on Monday, October 20th. Healey is set to introduce a ‘kinetic option’ that would allow British troops or Ministry of Defence police to shoot down drones menacing military installations in the UK.
This is a significant change, as current protocol requires soldiers to divert suspect UAVs or jam their GPS signals using anti-drone devices. However, the new regulations will allow unidentified drones to be shot down in exceptional circumstances.
The need for the new powers has been recognised not only by the UK, but also by the EU and NATO. In recent months drones have disrupted airspace across Europe on several occasions.
Several UAV incursions occurred across the European Union, prompting a summit in Denmark earlier this month. Some EU member states now support the plan for a multi-layered ‘drone wall’ designed to quickly detect, track, and destroy foreign drones making incursions into their airspace.
In addition, various European airports have recently been forced to close due to UAV sightings, including Munich in Germany, where this happened on two consecutive days. Airports in Denmark and Norway were also closed after unidentified drones were spotted near the airport and military airspace.
On October 15th both NATO and the EU sought ways to boost anti-UAV defences, as Europe scrambles to counter the perceived threat from Russia after a series of air incursions. High-profile incidents in Poland and Estonia have also sparked a flurry of activity from European officials to plug gaps in the continent’s defences.
NATO has launched a new mission and beefed up forces on its eastern border, but it is playing catch-up as it tries to tap Ukraine’s experience and get to grips with the drone threat from Moscow. Discussing NATO’s eastern flank, Alliance head Mark Rutte said NATO was now
testing integrated systems that will help us detect, track and neutralise aerial threats.
U.S. defence secretary Pete Hegseth issued a strident call for more nations to contribute, with the Pentagon chief declaring
Now is the time for all NATO countries to turn words into action. … No free riders.
The push from the military alliance comes as the EU debates creating a ‘drone wall’ to try to tackle the menace. Brussels presented a ‘road map’ to its ministers on October 15th and hopes to get sign-off at a leaders’ summit this week.
Brussels is pushing to have the drone project fully up and running by the end of 2027, but there is scepticism from some EU member states and fears the bloc is treading on NATO’s toes. Perhaps bizarrely, Ukraine itself hopes to arm the EU, building on a long-standing economic ambition.
“We are not doubling the work that NATO is doing, actually we are complementing each other,” said Brussels foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, trying to justify the sudden military spending spree.
