The United States has withdrawn all of its bomber aircraft from RAF Fairford, the Royal Air Force base at the centre of a terrorism investigation.
A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson confirmed that roughly a dozen B‑1 long‑range bombers were flown back to American bases following a serious incident at the airfield on 27 September.
The withdrawal comes after police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles approaching the United Kingdom’s military installation in Gloucestershire. Five men—young UK nationals—were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and later on preparing a terrorist act, but they were released on bail in an "investigative decision" described as "grounded in experience and strategy".
A sixth suspect, a 25‑year‑old UK‑Iranian national, was also arrested in London and subsequently freed on bail. Whitehall sources said the U.S. response was a purely operational decision communicated directly to its British counterparts.
The Defence Ministry has not yet commented, but sources say the aircraft were monitored on flight-tracking sites leaving the base on the Sunday after the incident. Prime Minister Andy Burnham hinted that Iran might have played a part, a claim Tehran strongly denied.
The RAF Fairford base has long served as a forward operating base for the U.S. Air Force. In recent months, U.S. bombers carried out missions to the Middle East, including armed precision strikes that the UK approved for defensive operations against Iran.
U.S. officials said the decision to pull the bombers was "a military rather than a political decision", and that the aircraft remain capable of operating from anywhere in the world, including the continental United States.
Additional reporting by Chris Partridge.
