Drone hit a hangar used by American U-2 spy planes on Sunday, causing tensions between the UK and Cyprus
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, on 24 February 2026 (AFP)
Published date: 5 March 2026 11:43 GMT | Last update: 5 hours 9 min ago
A drone which hit Britain's Royal Air Force Akrotiri base in Cyprus was not launched from Iran as many had initially assumed, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed.
Officials reportedly believe the "Shahed-type drone" evaded detection by flying low and slow on Sunday. It hit a hangar used by American U-2 spy planes and burst into flames.
There were no casualties and the MoD said there was "no damage to equipment inside the hangar".
But the UK has still not confirmed where exactly the drone was launched from – and who was responsible.
The MoD said it believes the drone was launched by a pro-Iran militia in Lebanon or in western Iraq, but an investigation has proved unable to conclusively establish where.
The Sun quoted an unnamed official saying: "Based on type of drone and its range and ability, Defence Intelligence can confirm that that drone was not launched from Iran."
According to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the drone was launched before he announced on Sunday evening that the US would be allowed to use UK military bases for the purpose of targeting Iranian missile sites.
The Cypriot government has strongly criticised Britain for failing to stop the drone hitting the base or to warn locals on the island.
It said on Monday morning that a further two unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted while heading towards RAF Akrotiri.
The Cypriot high commissioner in the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, said "the people are disappointed, the people are scared, the people could expect more".
The president's spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said on Tuesday: "All necessary steps will be taken to communicate our dissatisfaction, both with the way this message was communicated and the fact that yesterday there was no timely warning to citizens of Cyprus living near the Akrotiri bases."
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British Defence Secretary John Healey flew to Cyprus on Wednesday and reportedly met his Cypriot counterpart on Thursday morning.
Starmer insisted in parliament on Monday that the two RAF bases on Cyprus are not being used by US bombers.
Britain has two bases in Cyprus, in Dhekelia and Akrotiri.
From the base on Akrotiri, RAF planes conducted hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza throughout Israel's war on the besieged enclave.
Local residents have been evacuated from areas surrounding the bases.
France and Greece have deployed military support to Cyprus, including F-16 fighter jets and anti-missile and anti-drone systems, while the UK has sent a Royal Navy destroyer to the country, which is expected to arrive next week.
While it is unclear whether the US will use RAF Akrotiri to launch attacks on Iranian missile sites, it is thought that the US will likely use the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean Chagos Archipelago.
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