RAF stealth fighter jet’s 290mph near miss with drone at 14,500ft after device looked into view just 300ft from its nose

An RAF stealth fighter came within just 90 meters of colliding with a drone flying illegally over Norfolk, an official report has found.

The incident, which took place at 45,460ft, is said to have taken place at the highest altitude ever recorded for a near miss between an RAF aircraft and a drone.

The F-35 Lightning aircraft was flying at a speed of almost 460 km/h when the aircraft appeared just ‘next to the left nose’. The pilot, who was followed by an instructor in a second single-seat F-35, later estimated the risk of a collision as ‘high’.

The drone flew at more than 36 times the permitted height for the aircraft.

The drone flew at more than 36 times the legal height for the devices (stock photo)

It is thought the operator was never traced, but if they were caught and convicted of endangering an aircraft they could have faced five years in prison.

According to the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), which reviews near misses, the close call occurred about eight miles east of Norwich just before 1pm on February 14. The pilot from RAF Marham, Norfolk, initially assumed the drone was another aircraft in the ‘distant distance’, but it ‘quickly became clear’ that it was a drone and that they were on ‘rapidly approaching flight paths’. According to the UKAB report, the F-35 had ‘little time to meaningfully manoeuvre’ as the drone was in view for a maximum of five seconds before passing towards the left side of the aircraft.

The drone was not detected by radar, meaning it was only “visually acquired” at a very late stage, the UKAB report confirmed.

The pilot of the second F-35, who was almost three kilometers behind, also got ‘visual contact’ with the drone. A review of onboard video footage from helmet-mounted cameras suggested the device was a quadcopter-style drone, the report said. It had a ‘similar silhouette’ to a Phantom drone manufactured by Chinese company DJI.

The RAF pilot saw the drone during a first ‘live sortie’ to learn how to operate the F-35.

Aviation experts have long warned of the dangers associated with drones being sucked into a jet engine or crashing into a cockpit.

Modern drones available for sale to the public have software that limits their height to the legal maximum of 400 feet, but this can be overridden by software patches purchased over the internet. Operators can also charge additional batteries so they can reach greater heights.

The pilot from RAF Marham, Norfolk (pictured) initially assumed the drone was another aircraft in the ‘distant distance’, but it ‘quickly became clear’ that it was a drone and that they were on ‘rapidly closing flight paths’ found.

An RAF spokesperson said: ‘The RAF regularly provides vital flying training across Britain. Drones operating in close proximity to our aircraft can pose a significant threat to their safety and can be extremely challenging for our aircrews to detect and take action.

“We continue to encourage users to use their assets responsibly and legally.”