News show episode · Reality Check · 21 October 2026
The Lakenheath incursions, two years on: Mike Morgan and Liberty
Ross Coulthart revisits the November 2024 incursions over RAF Lakenheath with retired police investigator Mike Morgan and 'Liberty', a plane spotter who watched them from the fence. Liberty describes a silent wire-frame craft, a huge dark object with a red light and a pilot saying 'We're chasing the UAP'; Morgan describes how thin the official inquiry was, from part-time police staff to radar data withheld. Coulthart sets it beside Langley, Senator Warner's unbacked 'Chinese drones', the Russia assessment and new incursions over Australia's F-35 base.
Timeline
On the recordWitness testimonyAlleged / one person's word
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2014–2019
Drones over US nuclear plants57 NRC incidents, 49 closed unresolved (FOIA, Douglas D. Johnson)
Dec 2018
Gatwick drone shutdownLocal couple arrested and released; source never found
19 Nov 2024
Wire-frame craft over a gardenSilent translucent box with corner rotors, about 5 m, near Lakenheath
20–25 Nov 2024
Lights that jumpLights go out and reappear far off; a large silent shape with one red light
4 Aug 2026
Leipzig explosive droneHits empty Ukrainian An-124, fails; GRU suspected
Oct 2026
Fairford arrestsSix held, all bailed; Iran suspected; not a UAP event
The claims, checked
On the record (2)
The helicopter crew mistook a distant F-15 for a drone.Airprox Board finding. Inside the same report: the helicopter's TCAS did not show the transponding F-15s. Morgan: the crew saw only red lights, though the F-15s had full nav lights (his FOI, not checked).firsthandUK Airprox BoardDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
NORAD's commanders did not know who flew over Langley.60 Minutes, March 2025.firsthandThe swarm over LangleyGregory Guillot
Witness testimony (6)
A silent wire-frame box with rotors at each corner crossed his garden the day before.Matches Coulthart's New Jersey 'bus with rotors' account.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in EuropeThe New Jersey drones
A huge silent dark object with one red light circled the base for ages; later it turned and showed a white light underneath.Friends present; about 250 m away and high; not caught on his film.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
An American pilot said on the radio: 'We're chasing the UAP.'Heard on a bystander's scanner; no recording cited.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
Lights went out and reappeared a fair distance away almost instantly.He can't say it was the same light each time.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
A Suffolk Police log records one object over the base for more than two and a half hours.Document Morgan holds; not public.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
The MoD Police inquiry had 46 staff, all part-time, no operation name, and made no local drone-operator inquiries.From Morgan's FOI requests and local drone operators.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
Alleged / one person's word (5)
Something following the police helicopter morphed into a helicopter.Rumour; neither guest ever found a witness.secondhandrumourunnamed locals → Liberty / Mike Morgan → told itDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
One was brought down: a big bang and something landing in Lakenheath village.One woman on Facebook, who then went quiet.secondhandrumourwoman in Lakenheath village (Facebook) → Liberty → told itDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
Russia ran the incursions.IISS 'highly likely' for a Europe-wide campaign; GRU-linked 'fruit pickers' per The i. Proposed, not demonstrated for Lakenheath; nothing caught.speculationIISS; The iDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
Langley was 'mostly Chinese drones'.Warner has not seen pictures; no Pentagon evidence; he said in Dec 2024 the Pentagon didn't know.secondhandunnamed briefers → Mark Warner → Matt Laslo (Ask a Pol) → told itThe swarm over Langley
At Williamtown, 'it wasn't a bloody drone ... huge, dead quiet'.Anonymous military source; the incursions themselves are on the record.anonymousmilitary source at Williamtown → Ross Coulthart → told itDrones over Australia's F-35 base
Doesn't hold as stated (2)
The objects over Lakenheath were drones.USAFE said 'small UAS' but never showed one; no operator, track, image or wreck in two years. Not disproven either: unidentified.firsthandDrones over U.S. bases in Europe
Daryl Johnson, an NRC security officer, found the US could not track drones over nuclear sites to source.No such person found; the NRC records came via FOIA from researcher Douglas D. Johnson. The underlying point (49 of 57 cases unresolved) is on the record.secondhand