Originally Posted by
Easy Street
Looks to have been photographed by a drone from outside the wire. As long as the drone was being operated with due regard for air traffic (of which there probably wasn't much on a Friday afternoon!) there is not a lot the MOD can do to stop such photos being taken by the public.
The area immediately round an airfield (or airport etc) is restricted, without permission you can't fly within 1km including the runway end extensions regardless of traffc levels - see the ENR 5.1 map (
NATS airspace restrictions). Since the airfield would have been BLACK at the time the pic was taken you would have a job arguing the drone was hazarding other aircraft - for which a 5 year prison term is available - but, barring stand-off via optical zoom etc, this drone flight would have been illegal.
Policing is a Civpol rather than MOD responsibilty (it's outside the wire) but policing is in any case difficult. That does not detract from the illegality of operating near an aerodrome covered by the restrictions, which does not deter those who regularly infringe in the Heathrow area.