RAF jets in near-misses with mystery drones over British skies as investigations launched

The incidents, which occurred just five days apart, took place during simulated air combat training and an aerial refuelling operation off England's east coast.

Incident logs obtained by The Telegraph reveal that the sightings were reported to police and that "multiple different external investigations" remain underway.

Neither object appeared on radar, and both were operating at heights far beyond the capability of most commercially available drones, raising questions about who was responsible for the flights amid mounting concern over hostile states deploying drones to monitor Western military activity.

The first encounter took place on February 18, when an RAF Airbus Voyager tanker was refuelling a Typhoon fighter jet off the coast of Cromer, Norfolk. The unidentified object passed so close overhead that the Voyager's pilot instinctively ducked.

Audio recordings reviewed by investigators captured the pilot alerting military controllers: "Uh yeah, just had something go overhead of us – potential drone at one seven zero – have you got anything on your screen?"

When the radar controller confirmed nothing was visible on his display, the pilot responded: "Okay that's copied it was, uh, it was a pretty small uh I would say kind of size of a drone and travelling east to west literally just went straight overhead."

The Typhoon crew, while refuelling, also saw the object, estimating it passed roughly 100 to 150 feet above them.

The second near-miss followed on February 23, roughly 30 miles off the Humberside coast, as a Typhoon pilot practised dogfighting with another aircraft.

According to a Defence Aviation Safety Occurrence Report filed immediately after the event, the pilot observed a "black circular object (similar in size to a car tyre) pass directly above him" at an estimated distance of around 300 feet.

The Typhoon was flying at approximately 12,500 feet when the object was spotted. The pilot radioed the controller monitoring the exercise: "I've got some waypoints for you, had a drone or what looked like a drone pass about two hundred feet above me at heading [easterly] direction at...12,500 feet."

The controller overseeing the mock combat was sufficiently alarmed to file a report with North Yorkshire Police.

The RAF's assessment concluded that both pilots responded appropriately.

A local investigation into the second incident determined that "as the Airprox [air proximity incident] happened off frequency and the drone did not display on radar, there were no causal factors found."

The internal reports logged the events as "Voyager vs drone" and "Typhoon vs drone" respectively.

However, the Voyager pilot later noted that, "upon reflection and discussion", it was not possible to "positively identify" the object as a drone, acknowledging it could have been a balloon or similar airborne item.

Under current regulations, privately operated drones are prohibited from flying above 400 feet.

Both objects the RAF crews encountered were operating tens of thousands of feet above that threshold, and neither registered on military radar systems.

Experts consulted by The Telegraph described the two sightings as highly unusual, noting no readily comparable instances of similar encounters off the east coast within such a short timeframe.

No confirmed evidence ties either incident to a foreign power.

Nevertheless, the combination of extreme operating altitudes, invisibility to radar, and proximity to active military exercises has intensified scrutiny of airspace security over the North Sea.

The Ministry of Defence was contacted for comment.