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Newly released police logs and video footage contradict official explanations of a near-collision between a British police helicopter and unidentified aerial objects overhead US air force base Last year there was an encounter that authorities had previously dismissed as a routine sighting of a fighter jet.
According to documents obtained by the Daily Mail The November 22, 2024 flight, obtained through the UK’s Freedom of Information Act, forced a National Police Air Service (NPAS) EC135 helicopter into an emergency evasive action after it was reported that two fast-moving aircraft had “targeted” and tracked the aircraft over RAF Lakenheath, a major US military installation in Suffolk.
The pilots described a steep dive to avoid impact as the objects followed their speed of about 165 knots (190 miles per hour) for several minutes before disappearing from view.
Nick Pope, who previously studied UFOs for the British Ministry of Defense, told Fox News Digital that the episode shows how unknown aerial phenomenaor UAP, have evolved from a fringe curiosity into a legitimate defense and aviation concern.
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The US government is forced to investigate reports of UFOs to determine any issues related to national security threats. (iStock)
“This disturbing incident perfectly illustrates why the UAP issue has gone from the fringe to the mainstream,” Pope said. “Whatever people believe, this is a serious aviation safety matter that requires urgent attention and action.”
Pope emphasized that simply referring to such encounters as “drones” can lead to obscuring something that is potentially much more complex.
““Drone” has become a convenient shorthand for everything inexplicable that people see in the sky,” he said. “So we really don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”
A UFO can be seen in the sky. (Courtesy of Netflix)
He added that the lack of data sharing between authorities and the tendency to downplay sightings could worsen the danger.
“I hope it doesn’t take a tragedy before something more is done,” Pope said. “Incidents of this nature are chronically under-reported, so the true extent of the problem is likely to be far more serious.”
Logs cited by the Daily Mail say the NPAS crew described the encounter as a “baseless pursuit” shortly after 10pm while on patrol near the base.
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“They had to conduct an emergency dive and described being followed during the dive by two drones that matched their speed… and then followed them outside the area for several minutes,” a police entry said.
Another notes that the pilots “felt like drones had targeted them and chased them away at about 140 knots.” [161 mph].”
Additional police reports between November 20 and 22 recorded around 20 drone sightings at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell. The logs described “10-15 drones…potentially entering base airspace” and that aircraft were temporarily grounded after crossing flight paths.
One witness, wearing night vision goggles, reported “five to six drones” near the A1065 motorway, while another described how “big stationary things – Tic-Tacs – were not birds”.
A British military source who viewed the full 30-minute infrared video of the helicopter told the Daily Mail that the footage showed “drones mirroring the helicopter’s movements” and performing a “corkscrew” maneuver impossible for an F-15.
“In the 30-minute video with pilot audio, no one mentions F-15s,” the source said. “They’re just talking about the drones… basically to get them out of the area.”
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According to the company’s website, Enigma has received more than 9,000 witness sightings of mysterious objects within 10 miles of United States coastlines since August 2025. (iStock)
Despite the multiple sightings, Britain’s Airprox Board, which investigates near misses, concluded in its final report that the crew had confused the lights of a U.S. Air Force F-15 operating nearby. Radar data showed the helicopter and jet approached within 1,700 feet, and the agency reported no further returns.
Retired senior police detective Mike Morgan told the Daily Mail he was frustrated by the official silence.
“There are a whole bunch of question marks about what happened in November 2024,” he said. “I have repeatedly encountered attempts by the authorities to avoid answering even the most basic questions… What is so secret about this investigation?”
Stuart Onyeche, a defense meteorologist, said he believed both the F-15 and police helicopter were responding to unmanned systems in the area.
“I tend to trust the initial details and the judgment of the experienced helicopter pilots,” Onyeche told the Daily Mail. “It is undeniable that an F-15 was also in the area… but the unanswered question is what that fighter was doing or looking for.”
The Daily Mail points out that the Lakenheath case comes amid weeks of similar reports of drone incursions near US military bases in New Jersey, the wider Northeast and overseas.
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The outlet also cites a joint FBI, Defense Department and NASA report warning that detection and jamming systems have “failed” to stop advanced drones, including a large swarm over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in December 2023 that was kept secret until revealed The war zone in March 2024.
Pope said recurring incidents like the Lakenheath encounter, coupled with limited transparency from authorities, point to a growing gap in the way governments deal with unidentified air activity and that without better reporting and coordination, the risk to aviation safety will only continue to increase.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.