British soldiers have been alerted that Russian spies may be using drones to surveil UK military bases to gather intelligence on the confidential training program designed for Ukrainian forces.
A handout to British soldiers claims that Russian intelligence has expressed “significant” interest in Operation Interflex, the international effort led by the British to train and assist the armed forces of Ukraine, The Times reported.
The multi-national military mission led by the British to assist and train the Ukrainian Armed Forces started in July 2022. The training involves military personnel from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, and the Netherlands and is conducted from various locations across the UK.
The Times report cited the Field Army Threat Handbook published last year to emphasize that Russian intelligence agencies “routinely employ” reconnaissance capabilities to collect intelligence on UK land activities, including the training of armed forces of Ukraine personnel. According to the manual, this includes the use of “mobile and foot surveillance, virtual and physical approaches to training providers, and interest from investigative journalists,” among other things.
The handbook also says that Russian agents have also approached army trainers both online and in person to solicit information. However, a British Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told the publication, “This government takes the security of our military establishments very seriously…There are a range of robust measures to protect our people and sites.”
Since the training aims to prepare Ukrainian soldiers for combat against Russia, there is widespread suspicion that the Kremlin is making efforts to collect intelligence on the training module and, likely, the equipment that its forces will face off against.
Earlier this year, German media reported that unidentified drones had regularly been spotted over German military training grounds for more than a year, specifically over areas where the Ukrainian military troops were being trained. Some reports stated that the focus then was to collect intelligence on Ukrainians training on Leopard tanks.
These drones ventured deep into the forests of rural Germany. At the time, reports stated that the German Bundeswehr suspected Moscow was behind them.
However, instead of trying to intervene, the Ukrainians were instructed to train against potentially hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in anticipation of fighting Russian drones on the front lines of eastern Ukraine, as reported by Politico.
In Germany, unidentified drones have been repeatedly observed flying over Bundeswehr training areas and barracks for over a year, particularly when training Ukrainian military personnel.
Markus Faber, FDP member of the Bundestag and member of the Defense Committee, said: “Drones… pic.twitter.com/QIkk5h3ZWB
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) January 7, 2024
EurAsian Times could not independently verify the reports on Russia sending drones into the UK. However, both Russia and Ukraine (supplemented by its allies in NATO) have been engaged in spying on each other in the ongoing war.
For instance, the Kremlin has repeatedly accused the United States and NATO states of carrying out spying over the Black Sea using drones.
In late June, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) stated that there was an upsurge in activity from US drones in the region and claimed that the drones were reportedly conducting reconnaissance and obtaining target data for highly accurate Western weapons that Ukraine was using to attack Russia.
With the proliferation of drones, several militaries worldwide have used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to carry out spy missions on their adversaries to gain a tactical advantage in combat.
Also, for instance, Chinese drones have flown over crucial US military assets in the Indo-Pacific, sparking concern over an alleged spying effort.
Chinese Drones Over US Ally Bases
In recent months, disturbing incidents have underscored the threat of potential espionage posed by drones.
In March 2024, China’s WZ-7 Soaring Dragon reconnaissance drones undertook a mission over the Sea of Japan for the first time, with its route indicating a crossing over Russia or North Korea. Previous instances include the TB-001 combat drone flying through the Miyako Strait in 2021 and 2022, indicating a pattern of surveillance of US military assets.
In May 2024, the Chinese PLA Air Force’s WL-10, an unmanned aerial vehicle designed for high-altitude, long-endurance missions, carried out flight activities above the East China Sea.
More importantly, though, reports surfaced in April and May of this year claiming that a Chinese drone was purportedly taking pictures and videos of the USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. These images fueled suspicions of espionage against US military activities and went viral on social networking sites like X (previously Twitter).
At about the same time, another unsettling video emerged. It showed the helicopter destroyer JS Izumo docking at the facility. Images of Yokosuka facilities used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force surfaced in April.
On May 9, 2024, the Japanese Ministry of Defense verified the authenticity of a video allegedly captured by a Chinese drone flying over the JS Izumo, stating that there were no irregularities.
In June, the US Department of Justice charged a Chinese citizen for using a drone to capture images of a Virginia shipyard involved in constructing US Navy nuclear submarines.
In July, Shi Fengyun, a 26-year-old graduate student from the University of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor and espionage charges for photographing US military infrastructure with a drone. The Espionage Act forbids taking pictures of military sites and operating unregistered drones in national defense airspace, of which Shi agreed to two of the six counts of offenses.
On July 23, South Korea disclosed that three Chinese students were apprehended for illegally filming a US aircraft carrier with a drone. The incident occurred in June when the aircraft carrier entered the port of Busan.
The students allegedly used a drone to capture footage of the 100,000-ton USS Theodore Roosevelt, which was docked near the Busan Operational Base of the Naval Operations Command in Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, on June 25. The drone hovered over the aircraft carrier for approximately five minutes before being detected by soldiers on patrol.
Chinese drones have also been hovering over frontline Taiwanese military installations, as previously reported by EurAsian Times. Footage of Taiwanese soldiers walking around the Kinmen Islands allegedly shot by civilian drones that flew inside Taiwanese territory from China was published by Chinese bloggers on the Chinese social network in April this year.
These incidents serve as a reminder of the vulnerabilities that military facilities encounter, highlighting the pressing need for improved safety measures.
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