Brits issued summer holidays warning as fears Putin is planning drone attack on UK
Brits could face a summer holiday nightmare with flights grounded and mass cancellations if Vladimir Putin launches drone attacks on the UK, its claimed.
Military experts believe it is a “mathematical certainty” that Russia will up the ante at some point and look to cause chaos in the skies by sending swarms of drones to Britain, with airports such as Heathrow possible targets.
Former Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe OBE told The Sun: “This is the sort of cat and mouse activity that’s been taking place between our forces since the 1950s.
“But Putin is ramping up his use of greyzone tactics. Russia almost certainly flew drones over Denmark from a shadow fleet ship last year, and it’s a mathematical certainty that at some point they will do it to us.
“They’ll fly drones from a ship into, let’s say Heathrow airspace and shut Heathrow down.
“So there’s a real sense that this is on the increase. They’re pushing, they’re probing, they’re testing, they’re stretching our resources.”
Airport insiders claim that should that happen, just one drone could cause catastrophic delays and leave Brits summer holidays plans in tatters..
An insider at Gatwick said: “We need to keep a very close eye on his plans.
“Even one drone operating in our airspace could be a complete nightmare. It is a very organised, well oiled machine, but one thing goes wrong and the entire schedule could go up in the air.
“Planes could miss time slots, and all of this has a domino effect on other flights.
“Delays also mean that flight attendants and pilots could see their airtime – which is the maximum time they are allowed to work – pushed to its limits, and that could mean more flights are cancelled.
“It would be chaos. Especially with the busiest time of year coming up.
“The World War Three threats could see the end of your summer holiday, and you probably would not even get money back from airlines as it is a safety issue that is completely out of our hands.”
The warning comes after a Russian spy plane swooped dangerously over Britain’s flagship aircraft carrier recently and dropped tracking buoys nearby.
RAF fighter jets were scrambled to the scene and managed to swiftly intercept the Russian Bear-F spy plane after it “repeatedly approached” the HMS Prince of Wales.
A think tank recently revealed Russia had used shadow fleet ships to launch hundreds of drones into Britain and Europe in 2024.
RAF bases Fairford, Feltwell, Lakenheath and Mildenhall were all the focus of the Kremlin‘s warmongering, according to a report by International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).
