UK Confirms Drone Sightings Over Diego Garcia, Prompting Reported Curfew at U.S.-U.K. Base 1,000 Miles From Sri Lanka
Updated
Updated · The War Zone · Aug 10
UK Confirms Drone Sightings Over Diego Garcia, Prompting Reported Curfew at U.S.-U.K. Base 1,000 Miles From Sri Lanka
3 articles · Updated · The War Zone · Aug 10
Summary
The U.K. Defense Ministry said it was aware of reported drone sightings over Diego Garcia, after social-media posts on Aug. 7 said drones were seen near the fuel farm and a 0700-1900 curfew was imposed.
Neither the MoD nor U.S. Pacific Command disclosed what drones were involved, when they appeared, who operated them or what countermeasures were taken, saying only that commanders were implementing security measures and remained vigilant.
Diego Garcia’s isolation heightens the concern: the closed island has no meaningful civilian drone traffic, yet analysts say sea-launched drones could still reach the base despite its location about 1,000 miles from Sri Lanka.
The sightings revive wider worries about protecting exposed aircraft and critical infrastructure at strategic bases, especially after Iran previously fired 2 ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia and drone threats have expanded globally.