RAF pilots encounter two unidentified high-altitude drones over the North Sea

During separate training missions in February, Royal Air Force aircraft came within close proximity of two unidentified drones over the North Sea. The first incident involved an Airbus Voyager tanker refuelling a Typhoon fighter near Cromer, where the pilot saw an object at 17,000 ft and maneuvered to avoid it, reporting a “potential drone” to air traffic control. Less than a week later, a Typhoon engaged in simulated combat off Humberside observed a black, tyre-sized object passing roughly 300 ft above the jet, which the pilot also described as a drone.

Both objects were invisible to radar, prompting the RAF and North Yorkshire Police to open several investigations, though no hostile attribution has been made. The encounters occurred shortly before the United States began hostilities with Iran, raising speculation about foreign surveillance, especially after similar drones were later reported at a US military site and linked to a Russian vessel near UK bases.