The Pentagon has returned its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford to US bases. Downing Street said on Monday the Gloucestershire base remains safe and would not comment on US operations.
The United States has withdrawn all of its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, and Downing Street said on Monday that the base remains safe.
A Pentagon official confirmed on Sunday that the bombers, thought to number about a dozen B-1 Lancers, had returned to home stations in the United States, the BBC reported. The New York Times, citing two US officials, reported that all 12 B-1s were moved after commanders received new threats about an Iran-backed plot, and that at least three had landed in South Dakota by Sunday. US European Command said the bombers were redeploying to home stations and declined to comment on any new warnings.
The move follows a 27 September alert over three suspicious vehicles near the base. The BBC reported that five men were arrested on suspicion of terror offences and later released on bail, and that a UK-Iranian national was also arrested and released on bail. Whitehall sources have not disputed that Washington's decision responded to the Fairford incident. The BBC said it was told the decision was military rather than political and was passed from the US military to British counterparts.
A Number 10 spokesperson said he would not comment on foreign nations' military operations, said the base was safe, and pointed to comments last week in which President Donald Trump praised British police, defence and security services in relation to the base. The Ministry of Defence has not commented.
Police inquiries into the September arrests remain the public British thread of the case. The Pentagon has not, in the BBC account, given a fuller operational reason beyond the withdrawal itself.