UNMARKED vans parked up near military bases and major airports could be used to launch devastating attacks on British soil, top defence experts have warned.
As cheap, commercially available change the future of warfare, it’s feared weapons hidden inside trucks or shipping containers will be remotely harnessed to target UK infrastructure – and attackers already have a playbook to work from.
Ukraine launched a drones on the Kremlin’s bomber fleet last June in a daring attack dubbed ‘Operation Spiderweb’
Footage showed the Ukrainian drones lining up their targets deep inside Russia
Incredible video showed the lids of the trucks being opened remotely before swarms of drones flew out Credit: Unpixs
Last June, launched a swarm of sleeper drones on the ‘s bomber fleet in the – inflicting more than £5billion worth of damage on ‘s tiring war machine.
The SAS-style strike on four airfields deep inside took 18 months to plan and caught Putin’s commanders entirely by surprise.
Nondescript containers sitting on the back of lorries parked in laybys had attracted little attention – before their lids blew open and the drone swarms poured out.
Now, defence sources have sounded the alarm over copycat attacks on the UK.
Sources told The Sun that the threat of small drones striking Britain’s F-35 fleet from a nearby lock-up in the style of Operation Spiderweb should not be downplayed.
They warned that drone swarms being launched from a passing Russian ghost ship is increasingly likely.
Katja Bego, Senior Research Fellow at Chatham House, said Operation Spiderweb “offered a glimpse into the future of warfare… in which anything, anywhere can become a target”.
She said: “All the technologies used in the operation… are available to many other states, as well as non-state actors.
“They may well take inspiration and copy elements of the operation in different contexts to target both military and civilian infrastructure.
“Nato’s interconnected, open economies are vulnerable to similarly disruptive attacks.
“Since the Cold War, many Nato members have paid insufficient attention to protecting their strategic infrastructure, whether military bases or commercial ports.
“They have frequently left expensive assets out in the open and concentrated in a few spots, which could now be vulnerable to potential long-range drone attacks.”
The danger was laid bare earlier this year when was targeted by explosive-laden drones.
It was a reminder that – and exposed how easily hostile forces can infiltrate airspace.
Frank A. Rose, a national security chief in the Joe Biden administration, told The Sun that a new age of drone swarm attacks is on the horizon.
He said: “Adversaries are using drones as tools of political coercion and terror.
“Russia has used mass volleys of drones to attack Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure. The objective of these attacks is clear: terrorise the Ukrainian population.
“We have seen Iran employ a similar strategy in the Middle East over the last six or seven weeks.”
The Ukrainian drones smuggled into Russia in compartments built inside nondescript lorries Credit: Unpixs
Russian airbases were left in ruins by Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb
Shadows of scorched earth are all that remained of Putin’s bombers at Olenya airbase after Ukraine’s drone attack Credit: @AirbusDefence
Wars in the Middle East and are advancing drone technology at breakneck speed.
It comes at a vulnerable moment for the UK as – repeatedly branding the alliance a “paper tiger”.
Military expert Robert Tollast told The Sun: “The US is heavily distracted in the Middle East and the Pacific and US-Europe relations are at a low.
“We still depend on the US for a lot of imported arms and space-based reconnaissance capabilities, so it’s possible Putin could see this as an opportunity: a US that is unable or unwilling to help.
“That would be a mistake on his part – Europe is strong in the air with an overwhelming fleet of advanced fighter aircraft – but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a major crisis.”
Tollast refused to rule out an attack on military, government or energy infrastructure “using commercially available drone components and an improvised explosive device”.
He said: “The question is really, would this seek to cause major disruption, or worse, major loss of life? It would obviously be high impact so we need to be prepared.”
And Tollast warned that has previous track record when it comes to high-risk attacks.
He said: “ has of course carried out a nerve agent attack in Britain which killed an innocent person and seriously sickened several others, and plotted to bomb a cargo plane. So don’t rule anything out.”
Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences at RUSI, warned that the tech needed to carry out such strikes is no longer the domain of state militaries.
“The Islamic State was using commercial drones to drop grenades on Iraqi forces in Mosul in 2016,” he told The Sun.
“We are now 10 years on from that, and that threat, the cost necessary to have that kind of capability, has only dropped, augmented by the fact that it isn’t that hard to even pilot those things now.
“First-person view drones becoming more prevalent, and also basic imagery recognition and targeting.
“That’s not a statement on the likelihood that next week a terrorist is going to do it, but if it is a danger.
“It’s much easier for somebody who is determined to do that to now do it.”
A satellite picture of Belaya Airbase shows a Russian bomber decimated by Ukraine’s strikes Credit: AFP
Adversaries could launch surprise strikes on the British aircraft fleet stationed at RAF Marham Credit: UK MoD Crown
Despite the handling a £65billion budget last year, and set to receive a £13.4billion annual boost by 2027, experts have warned that upgrades are being drip-fed into Britain’s military fleet.
Savill warned that the UK’s existing counter-drone systems, mostly operated by the RAF, may not be enough.
“We have a lot of these detection and jamming capabilities that don’t even necessarily involve shooting something down,” he said.
“If intelligence detected that kind of terrorist plot, do we have enough to defend enough locations? Can we deploy them quickly enough?”
The problem, Tollast said, is that while drones themselves are cheap and disposable, defending against them is eye-wateringly expensive.
He said: “Drone defences are actually quite costly – it’s the old military saying: ‘You can’t defend everything at once.'”
Putin and other adversaries could target power stations, busy airports or other major infrastructure, experts say.
Tollast added: “If it’s a limited attack we might be able to scramble jet fighters to shoot it down but that’s incredibly expensive. I’m doubtful that we’re ready for it. We’re certainly not ready for a large-scale attack.
“Whether we are prepared for any major piece of infrastructure to be hit – I seriously doubt that we’re ready for that. It’s worrying.”
Russia could attack the UK by launching drone swarms from ghost ships off Britain’s coast, Tollast said.
“A lot of large energy and industrial infrastructure is located by the sea,” he explained.
“So it’s not out of this world to imagine drones being launched by ship at these targets, perhaps hidden in shipping containers.”
Thunderous apocalyptic explosions from a Russian drone swarm attack hit the Ukrainian port city of Chornomorsk Credit: East2West
The aftermath of the vicious drone attack on Chornomorsk Credit: East2West
Dr Marina Miron, Russian military strategy expert at King’s College London, added that the British has no real-world experience of drone warfare.
She said: “What we’ve learned in Afghanistan we can’t apply to war with Russia. You have to participate in these scenarios to be prepared.
“The Ukrainians soldiers have been complaining, they say: ‘You have interesting , but it doesn’t apply’. Drones are a huge challenge for the UK and .”
And while Britain lags behind, its Russian and Iranian enemies are honing their drone attacks on the battlefield.
Defence expert Sam Cranny-Evans warned the tactics and tech developed in will bolster Russia’s military strategy and pose problems for European security.
“For Nato, defending against drones is going to become really important,” he said.
In August 2024, the Kremlin built the fearsome Rubicon Centre – an elite, secret military unit designed specifically to advance drone warfare.
In under two years, the unit has pioneered fibre-optic drones and conducted some of the most brutal aerial ambushes of the .
Britain and its allies may have to accept difficult trade-offs in any future scuffle with this task force.
Cranny-Evans said: “There may be hard choices around what to protect and what not, and where to put that protection. The Russians will have a lot of drones, and they will have a lot of assets designed to hunt for our equipment.”
Rescue workers extinguish a fire at a recycling warehouse following a missile and drone strike in Kyiv Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
Russia has saturated Ukrainian airspace with strikes throughout the war Credit: Shutterstock Editorial
If Russia continues to be humiliated in Ukraine, experts fear Putin could lash out at Nato and the UK.
He’s already sent drones to target Poland, prompting by shooting down the aircraft.
An embarrassed Putin could become more unpredictable, Tollast warned.
Tollast said the Russian president could try to save face with an attack on the Baltics, causing a “massive security crisis in Nato”.
Or Putin could “grab a piece of Estonia or “, he added.
Tollast said: “Just to take a bite and try and hold it, to try and make a point that Russia is still a powerful player that won’t accept humiliation in Ukraine.
“That would be a massive security crisis in Nato with multiple European armies involved.”
If Putin becomes rattled by battleground failures in Ukraine and lashes out at the Baltics, he could target Britain in a bid to get Nato to back down.
This could include drone attacks or a “major high-intensity conflict short of nuclear war,” Tollast said.
Desperate Vlad may resort to retaliatory drone strikes on the UK Credit: AFP
Russia’s secret Rubicon drone HQ in Patriot Park near Moscow, pictured, traced by OSINT investigators Credit: Patriot Park/e2w
It would be a serious escalation by Putin, and if Nato allies leapt to the UK’s defence, it could push the continent to the verge of World War Three.
Kremlin expert Dr Miron said: “Let’s assume Putin gets humiliated in Ukraine and decides to attack.
“He’s probably gonna send tactical nukes, so the drones will be the least of our worries.”
Miron added that missiles could be accompanied by a drone swarm that could “work to just overwhelm air defences”.
She said: “The challenge is to defend against not just ten or 15 drones but a barrage of drones, a drone swarm.
“You can shoot them down but they could be carrying explosive warheads and that could cause more damage.
“The Russian military thinks in Cold War logic. The first strike should basically be the last strike.
“If Putin were to come and attack he would have to destroy any response capacity. He might hit strategic infrastructure, most likely military, to ensure no retaliation strike can be made.”
Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, examining maps of five targeted Russian airbases ahead of ‘Operation Spiderweb’ Credit: East2West
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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