A Shahed drone that struck RAF Akrotiri on Sunday night tore a 30-foot gash in the side of a hangar housing American U-2 spy aircraft, according to The Sun, which says the UK Ministry of Defence admitted the hangar was hit when confronted with the newspaper’s evidence.
Both the British Bases and the Cypriot government had described the damage from the attack as minor. The Sun’s account suggests the impact was more significant than officially acknowledged.
A ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying there were no casualties and that thorough assessments showed damage was minimal. “No damage has been caused to equipment inside the hangar,” the spokesperson added.
According to The Sun, a fleet of U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft is permanently based at RAF Akrotiri as part of a decades-long surveillance mission codenamed “Olive Harvest.”
The single-seat aircraft fly above 70,000 feet and are capable of collecting signals intelligence, taking detailed photographs, and monitoring the atmosphere for radiation from nuclear weapons tests.
American officials declined to comment to The Sun on the details of Sunday night’s attack.
Assessments suggest the drone was launched from Lebanon rather than from Iran.
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