The United States has withdrawn its B-1 Lancer bombers from RAF Fairford in England and returned them to their home stations in America, according to a Pentagon confirmation reported by the BBC. The move follows a security incident near the Gloucestershire airfield, although US officials have not publicly given a reason for the withdrawal.
The aircraft, believed to number about a dozen, left the base on Sunday. Flight-tracking services recorded B-1 departures, while a Pentagon official confirmed that the bombers had been removed. The BBC reported that the choice was made at an operational military level and communicated to British counterparts, rather than being a political decision. The UK Ministry of Defence did not comment.
The departure comes after police were alerted on 27 September to three vehicles described as suspicious near RAF Fairford. Five British men from London were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and later on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. A sixth man, described as a UK-Iranian national, was subsequently arrested in London. All six were released on bail while the investigation continues. Their release does not resolve the allegations, and no charge or finding of responsibility was reported.
British officials told the BBC that authorities were handling an elevated threat from Iran and that US airbases would logically be potential targets. The New York Times, cited by the BBC, reported that US commanders had received more specific information about an alleged Iran-backed plot. Iran has denied involvement. Those competing statements remain claims rather than an established account of who, if anyone, was behind the incident.
RAF Fairford has served for decades as a forward operating location for the US Air Force. B-1 and B-52 aircraft have operated from the base in recent months in support of missions connected to the Middle East. Moving the aircraft reduces the immediate presence of US heavy bombers at the British site, but the Pentagon said its forces retained the ability to launch and recover missions from the continental United States.
The B-1 is a limited strategic asset that is no longer in production. Ezra Cohen, a former US defence official, told the BBC that protecting such aircraft from possible threats was prudent. He also said that removing them from Fairford would increase the cost of conducting strikes because missions would need to originate in the United States or elsewhere in Europe.
For residents, the withdrawal also ended a period of unusually visible activity. People living near the base described both relief from aircraft noise and concern that the deployment had made the area feel more exposed. The security investigation remains active, and the available official confirmation establishes the relocation of the bombers but not the precise intelligence or operational judgment that prompted it.
