British troops given powers to shoot down drones near bases to counter Russia threat

British troops will be given new powers to bring down drones threatening military bases, the defence secretary has said, also signalling plans to strengthen the Nato alliance in a major defence speech in London.

Addressing the lord mayor’s annual defence and security lecture at Mansion House, John Healey warned that “not since the end of the Second World War has Europe’s security been at such risk of state-on-state conflict”, arguing that Britain’s role is to be “democracy’s most reliable ally”.

Reaffirming the UK’s commitment to Nato, the defence secretary said the government has been left with a responsibility to “strengthen it still further”, promising to “develop a greater readiness to fight together”.

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Speaking just days after the US president signalled he would meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war in Budapest in the coming weeks, Mr Healey said: “As President Trump leads the push for peace … Here in Europe, we are ready to lead the work to secure it in the long term”.

Although the new powers to down drones will initially apply only to military sites, sources told The Telegraph the government was “not ruling out working to extend those powers” to other important sites like airports.

The new powers to protect military bases will be included in the Armed Forces Bill, with Mr Healey pledging to “do what’s needed to keep the British people safe”.

“As we speak, we are developing new legal powers to bring down unidentified drones over UK military sites”, he added.

“This is – undeniably – a new era of threat. The world is more unstable, more uncertain, more dangerous.

“Not since the end of the Second World War has Europe’s security been at such risk of state-on-state conflict.”

Currently, troops can use specialist counterdrone equipment, which can track incoming drones, hijack signals, and divert them.

The new proposal will give soldiers or the Ministry of Defence Police a “kinetic option” to shoot them on sight, which they can only do now in extreme circumstances, sources told the publication.

Mr Healey used Monday’s speech to argue he has “always believed that Britain’s strategic strength comes from our allies and that Britain must be democracy’s most reliable ally”.

Speaking about Nato, the defence secretary promised to “develop a greater readiness to fight together” and to “deter together” over the coming years, adding: “We will set new standards for how allies can work together.”

He also warned that the threats faced by the alliance “demand that we don’t just coordinate our forces, they require us to be ready to combine”.

Mr Healey added: “Over the next five years, we will make this a hallmark of our New Deal for European security.

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“Joint operations and interoperable standards, deploying combined forces together, to deter together, to strengthen our alliances, strengthen Nato, and strengthen our deterrence to face this new era.”

The UK sent specialist counterdrone experts to Denmark in September after suspicious activity, while last year a number of unidentified drones were spotted on multiple occasions over three airbases used by US forces in the UK – RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell, in Norfolk.

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.

Russia’s extensive use of the technology in the invasion of Ukraine has seen more than 3,000 one-way attack drones deployed so far in October, following 5,500 in September.

The Ministry of Defence has been contacted for comment.