Moving B-1 Bombers From UK To US Is No Drone Warfare Solution

In the UK a series of unauthorized drone incursions affected four primary Royal Air Force bases utilized by the US Air Force in England including RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall. RAF Feltwell and RAF Fairford. In addition at RAF Akrotiri, the British Royal Air Force base in Cyprus, was struck by an Iranian-manufactured Shahed-type loitering munition on March 1, 2026.

The US uses Akrotiri for regional reconnaissance, intelligence operations, and force deployments. This includes hosting US Air Force units-such as Detachment 1 of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing supporting reconnaissance aircraft like the U-2-as well as shared intelligence and security detachments.

At Fairford intelligence suggested that the possible attack would be launched from trucks carrying drones, similar to the way Ukraine attacked Russia in Operation Spiderweb in June 2025.

In that operation, Ukrainian operatives smuggled large quantities of first-person-view (FPV) attack drones deep inside Russian territory, concealed inside wooden cabins mounted on the back of commercial trucks.

The drones were then launched from close proximity to the targeted airfields. The drones hit multiple deep-interior Russian air bases spanning multiple time zones, including Olenya, Ivanovo Severny, Dyagilevo, Belaya (Siberia), and Ukrainka.

The operation targeted Russia's long-range strategic bomber fleet (such as Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 aircraft used to launch cruise missiles against Ukraine), destroying or damaging multiple high-value aircraft.

The severity of the drone threat to US airbases and other sensitive sites (including dams, nuclear power plants, communications and energy infrastructure) is unclear. US and UK authorities do not typically release information on drone incursions unless they have to do so from public pressure.

Ellsworth is not necessarily safe. Local law enforcement and base officials previously reported multiple unauthorized drone sightings and incursions in restricted airspace near the base.

For instance, the Meade County Sheriff's Office issued warnings regarding multiple waves of unauthorized drones spotted north of the base, prompting local authorities and base defense to remind the public that the installation is a strict“no-drone zone.”

It would be highly unusual for a single drone operator to run multiple waves of drones, suggesting that Ellsworth, like Barksdale and other sensitive sites, have been extensively reconnoitered by an adversary or adversaries.