British Air Force uses drones for first time to monitor Russian naval activity near British coast

The British Royal Air Force (RAF) has used drones for the first time to monitor Russian naval activity off the coast of the United Kingdom, according to a report published last night.

This development comes after warnings from military experts that Russian President Vladimir Putin's ships could be used to launch remote-controlled drones, which could take part in a massive attack on Britain, the Telegraph reports.

The British Ministry of Defense announced that over the past month, a British unarmed Protector RG1 drone has flown over the English Channel. It provided more than ten hours of surveillance and intelligence gathering, in cooperation with Royal Navy warships and helicopters, while tracking a Russian warship.

Amid criticism of the Labour government's level of defence funding and concerns that it could leave Britain exposed to a Russian attack, officials have revealed that Royal Navy activity monitoring Russian movements has increased by 25 per cent in the first seven months of this year, compared with the same period in 2025.

Russian ships have been spotted monitoring Britain's critical undersea cables. In response, the Ministry of Defence has allocated another £330m over four years to strengthen seabed monitoring and surveillance, as well as develop more advanced anti-submarine capabilities.

A senior military commander has warned that a Russian drone attack could be launched within minutes from a ship off the British coast and be directed against infrastructure in various parts of the country.

"We need greater preparedness and this requires funding, so more investment in defense now, not tomorrow," the source said.

He added that Britain should have more planes in the air and ships at sea, regardless of their size, in order to monitor the movements of maritime vehicles.

"Surveillance systems are essential to prevent any Russian incursion. We have new laser-guided missiles capable of destroying drones, but we need a warning system to give the RAF time to get into the air," he declared.

According to him, the Labor government is not adequately assessing the threat that lies near the country's borders.

Moscow has already sent drones to Poland, Moldova, Lithuania, Norway and Denmark. Meanwhile, intelligence officials warn that Britain could be the next target, as the Kremlin continues to seek revenge for London's support for Ukraine.

One of the most effective tools against drones is the Wildcat helicopter, equipped with machine guns, which can quickly destroy a large group of drones.

Tim Ripley, senior analyst at the Defence Eye organisation, said the British military has some useful capabilities to deal with small drones, but it needs a warning system to activate defences in the right places.

According to him, this can only be achieved through more frequent air and sea patrols to monitor ships near British coasts, which can deactivate their automatic identification system (AIS) to avoid radars.

"Each ship can launch a group of drones. We need a contingency plan for identifying suspicious vehicles so that we can then activate air units and ground-based countermeasure systems," Ripley said.

Meanwhile, British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting stated that the use of the Protector drone in cooperation with Royal Navy ships and helicopters constitutes a new development in monitoring activity near the country's coasts.

"For the first time, Protector joined Royal Navy warships and helicopters in monitoring activity near our coasts. This demonstrates that we are constantly developing new ways to monitor and prevent threats and irresponsible provocations," he said.

The GeoPost