Good thing security forces stopped this guy!
An intruder was able to drive his car onto a US Air Force base before he was stopped inches from a military combat aircraft.
Aerial footage from the RAF Mildenhall showed a cordon surrounding a black car and a £43million V-22 Osprey stationed near a runway in the centre of the site.
The suspect pretended to be a senior military official at the main checkpoint at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk.
When police refused to let him in just after 1pm, he forced the car through the entrance and the base was placed into lockdown.
The intruder got close to a V22 Osprey, a ‘heli-plane’ nicknamed the Transformer, before he was apprehended. A 44-year-old British man was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass.
He suffered cuts and bruises but no one else was injured. His motive remained unclear, but police said the incident was not being treated as terrorism.
It is understood the man claimed to be someone ‘important within the military establishment’ when he was confronted at the main gates.
US military personnel opened fire when he ignored guards, including both American and UK Ministry of Defence police, and drove onto the base.
Superintendent Kim Warner, of Suffolk Police, said a vehicle failed to follow security directions at the entrance and drove on to the base.
There was a ‘short pursuit’ and the vehicle was stopped by US security services, he said.
The man, who suffered cuts and bruises, has been taken into custody and police are not looking for anyone else on the site in relation to the incident.
There were initial reports of a car being rammed into a checkpoint, but Mr Warner said he was ‘unaware of any damage to the base itself’.
He said the vehicle was brought to a halt close to a US plane, an Osprey, and it was not thought there was ‘any significant damage’ to the vehicle or the aircraft.
There was ‘no obvious motive at this stage’, he added.
It has been claimed that the suspect is a British citizen who pretended to be someone he was not – possibly a senior military figure – to get through a checkpoint. It is believed he may have been suffering mental health problems.
Residents also reported hearing gunshots and the American children at a soft play area in the village were said to have ‘suddenly left’ after the incident.
Last night a police car was blocking the entrance to the base and there was a strong police and military presence in the area, with 4×4 vehicles patrolling outside.
A Suffolk Police spokesman said: ‘Suffolk Police were contacted at…