The US Air Force has pulled its bombers from RAF Fairford following an investigation into an alleged planned terror attack at the base. The bombers were redeployed back to their home bases in the US, according to a Pentagon official who was not authorised to discuss sensitive military movements and spoke on Sunday on condition of anonymity. A Pentagon spokesperson said: “While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States.” At least 10 B-1 bombers out of 12 flew out of Fairford today, including some that arrived on rotation less than a week ago, underlining the haste of the departure and the apparent significance given by the US to the threat.
There was no immediate comment from the UK Ministry of Defence, though the rapid pace of the withdrawal will heighten concerns in the area around the RAF base in Gloucestershire. According to reporting by US media, the withdrawal appears to be in response to fresh or renewed security concerns about safety on the base. A report in the New York Times said: “American officials on Sunday declined to specify the nature of the new information that prompted the rapid withdrawal of the Air Force bombers, some of which had just arrived in the past week as part of a normal rotation of forces.
In total, six people have been taken into custody and then released on bail during the investigation. British authorities have linked the incident to Tehran. Iran has denied involvement.
RAF Fairford, located 100 miles (160 kilometres) west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East. Its use in recent months came after then prime minister Keir Starmer granted Washington permission to use British bases for “defensive” strikes against Tehran. The US military still maintains a sizeable presence in the Middle East.
On Thursday, a US official said the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier as well as the USS Malkin Island amphibious readiness group – a group of ships that together carry more than 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines – were heading for the region. The official said the move could result in three carriers being in the region as early as the end of October.
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