RAF stealth fighter jet's 290mph near miss with drone at 14,500ft

• Drone was being flown at more than 36 times the legal height for the devices 

An RAF stealth fighter came within just 300ft of smashing into a drone being flown illegally over Norfolk, an official report has revealed.

The incident, which occurred at 14,460ft, is believed to have been at the highest altitude ever recorded for a near miss between an RAF aircraft and a drone.

The F-35 Lightning jet was travelling at nearly 290mph when the device loomed into view just ‘off the left nose’. The pilot, who was being followed by an instructor in a second single-seater F-35, later rated the chances of a collision as ‘high’.

The drone was being flown at more than 36 times the legal height for the devices.

An RAF stealth fighter came within just 300ft of smashing into a drone being flown illegally over Norfolk, an official report has revealed (Stock Photo)

The drone was being flown at more than 36 times the legal height for the devices (Stock Photo)

It is thought the operator was never traced, but if caught and convicted of endangering an aircraft they could have been jailed for five years.

The close call happened about eight miles east of Norwich just before 1pm on February 14, according to the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), which assesses near misses. The pilot from RAF Marham, Norfolk, at first assumed the drone was another aircraft in the ‘far distance’ but it ‘soon became apparent’ it was a drone and they were on ‘rapidly closing flightpaths’. The UKAB report said the F-35 had ‘little time to manoeuvre meaningfully’ while the drone was in view for up to five seconds before it passed to the left side of the aircraft.

The drone was undetected by radar, meaning there was only ‘very late visual acquisition’ of it, the UKAB report confirmed.

The pilot of the second F-35, which was nearly two miles behind, also ‘gained visual contact’ with the drone. A review of onboard video 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 while flying on a first ‘live sortie’ to learn how to operate the F-35.

Aviation experts have long warned of the dangers posed by drones being sucked into a jet engine or smashing into a cockpit.

Modern drones available for sale to the public have software limiting their height to the legal maximum of 400ft, but this can be overridden by software patches purchased over the internet. Operators can also load on extra batteries so they can achieve greater heights.

The pilot from RAF Marham, Norfolk, (pictured) at first assumed the drone was another aircraft in the ‘far distance’ but it ‘soon became apparent’ it was a drone and they were on ‘rapidly closing flightpaths’

An RAF spokesman said: ‘The RAF regularly conducts essential flying training across the whole of the UK. Drones operating in the vicinity of our aircraft can offer a significant threat to their safety and can be extremely challenging for our aircrew to spot and take avoiding action.

‘We continue to encourage users to fly their assets responsibly and legally.’

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