Prince William flies drone and fires sniper rifle during live fire practice with Welsh Guards

The Prince of Wales has flown a drone and fired a sniper rifle during a training session with the Welsh Guards.

The prince, a former army officer, also fired a machine gun during a visit to Salisbury Plain on Tuesday.

William, who became colonel of the regiment last year, wore camouflage gear and a beret as he joined live fire practice with soldiers from its 1st Battalion.

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The prince fired a "full belt" of 200 machine gun rounds at a disused tank around 800m away, earning praise from the machine gun platoon commander, who said he "did well hitting the target".

The prince said afterwards he enjoyed flying the drone, weapons which have been much used on the battlefield in the war in Ukraine, by both Ukrainian defenders and invading Russian forces.

One of the regiment's senior drone operators, asked about the prince's reaction, said: "With the drones he was saying what's happening is reality."

The drone operator, who didn't give his name, said the drones cost £7,000 each, calling them "a new bit of kit brought into a military context.

"Drones have been a thing for years but now we're utilising them as an asset on the ground and it's proven successful in current affairs that's actually happening now."

The platoon commander described the royal visit as "very special", adding: "The regiment has a long history with His Majesty the King, formerly the Prince of Wales, and now his royal highness.

"And so this is amazing morale for the guys especially when they've been doing a lot of ceremonial duties... and also on a visit like this... they can get hands on with him, show him how it's done and I think that means a lot to them."

It comes as separately a number of drones were seen over three air bases in Britain that are used by the United States Air Force on Tuesday - for the second time in less than a week.

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The aircraft were previously spotted sometime between last Wednesday and Friday over the same three airbases - a highly unusual occurrence.

William's visit comes less than a week after a fleet of drones was scrapped, along with warships and military helicopters, as part of a round of defence cuts.

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