A UK Home Office surveillance drone caught fire. Kent Fire and Rescue Service dispatched two fire engines, and by 2 PM they arrived near the M20 road close to Folkestone, finding that the drone, being transported by vehicle, had overturned and caught fire. Firefighters extinguished the flames using hoses, and no injuries were reported. The Home Office nameplate could be seen on the bottom of the drone, although the department has yet to confirm this to the media. FlightRadar24 shows this was a Tekever AR5 Evolution MK2 drone, worth up to £400,000, typically used by the Home Office for English Channel surveillance.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke and debris along the roadside. It is not yet clear whether the drone crashed in flight or caught fire during road transport. The Home Office has previously deployed large surveillance drones in Kent and the Folkestone area to monitor migrant crossings in the English Channel. These drones are civil-registered but used for government surveillance flights.
These drones are used for surveillance over the English Channel (Image: UKNIP)
In 2020, the UK and France signed an agreement to double the number of deployed police officers to prevent migrants from crossing the English Channel by small boats. As part of this agreement, more surveillance technology was promised, including drones, radar equipment, cameras, and electro-optical binoculars. According to the Refugee Council, last year reportedly saw the highest recorded number of English Channel crossing deaths. The charity stated that at least 69 people died attempting to reach the UK.
