sUAS News confirmed: RAF deploys to Jersey under MACA request after rogue drone incursions

sUAS News confirmed: RAF deploys to Jersey under MACA request after rogue drone incursions

By Ian Hudson on 2 November 2026

The ministry of defence (MoD) has confirmed to sUAS News that the Department of Transport is now leading counter drone measures in Jersey with the RAF responding to a Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) request.

We had wind that the RAF was attending and noticed the A400 movement last night.

Between 30 and 31 October 2026, persistent unauthorised drone incursions prompted consecutive night-time closures of Jersey Airport airspace, severely disrupting regional air travel.

The initial disruption began at 8.20pm on Friday 30 October, when repeated drone sightings inside restricted approach paths halted operations for more than two hours. Three inbound commercial flights from the UK were forced to turn back or divert. Unlawful activity resumed the following evening, affecting four scheduled services and resulting in flight cancellations, returns to origin, and an international diversion to Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Jersey’s Chief Minister, Lyndon Farnham, condemned the flights as ‘deliberate and unlawful’ actions against an essential island lifeline. The States of Jersey Police opened an investigation alongside the Honorary Police, Ports of Jersey, and Channel Islands Air Search, appealing for dashcam, doorbell, and CCTV footage from the western parishes of St Peter, Jubilee Hill, and La Pulente.