All American Bombers Leave Britain’s RAF Fairford After Suspected Plot Nearby

The United States pulled every one of its bombers out of RAF Fairford in southwest England on Sunday, ending a deployment that had made the airfield a launch point for long-range strikes during the war with Iran.

Aircraft spotters reported that all 12 B-1B Lancers stationed at the base departed over the course of the day, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. The Pentagon and United States European Command later confirmed that all American bombers deployed to Fairford had returned to their home stations in the United States. A Pentagon statement said operational security had prevented officials from confirming the movements as they happened.

The withdrawal followed a security scare a week earlier. On Sept. 27, police arrested five London men in their twenties near the base after a local farmer reported vans blocking a road and masked men running from the scene, Agence France-Presse reported. About 85 nearby homes were evacuated. Investigators recovered gasoline from the vans but no explosives, and all five men were released on bail. A sixth man, a 25-year-old British-Iranian dual national, was later arrested in London on suspicion of plotting an attack and has also been bailed, CBS News reported.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there are strong indications that Iran played a part, while stressing that the police investigation is continuing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a foreign actor was involved. Iran’s embassy in London said it categorically rejected and strongly condemned speculation that Tehran was involved. Some speculation in Britain has centered on fuel theft rather than terrorism, coming in a week when energy prices there hit record highs.

The Pentagon has not publicly linked the departure to the suspected plot, and officials noted that bombers can strike targets anywhere in the world from bases in the continental United States, as B-1, B-2 and B-52 crews did during the most intense phase of the Iran campaign this spring. President Trump praised British police and security services for their cooperation but criticized their release on bail, saying he would not have done that.

Fairford became central to the air campaign in early March, when Britain granted permission for what it called specific defensive operations against Iran. At the peak, about two dozen bombers were based there at once, including roughly 18 B-1Bs and six B-52Hs, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. Since a fragile ceasefire took hold in April, the remaining aircraft have mostly flown training missions. In July, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps declared that it considered the base a legitimate target.

The move leaves open questions about how long allied bases in Europe can host American strike forces without becoming targets themselves, and about what the incident near Fairford actually was. British police have not announced charges, and the government says the base remains secure.