US Air Force extracts all B-1B bombers from RAF Fairford

Removal comes one week after a suspected attempt to attack the base.
The US Air Force (USAF) has extracted 12 Boeing B-1B bombers that had deployed to RAF Fairford in the UK since earlier this year. Departing on 4 October, they have been re-deployed to their home stations in the US.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio says the withdrawal is unrelated to an attempted attack on the Gloucestershire base on 27 September. “The Department of War is constantly reallocating resources where they need to be. There are regular rotations that happen as well… I wouldn’t directly tie that to the move that was made,” he says.

Rubio adds that the US still has full confidence in the security of all its bases around the world, and that British officials “couldn’t be more cooperative”.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his predecessor Keir Starmer granted the US permission to operate “defensive strikes” from the base against Iran. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated in July that RAF Fairford was viewed as a justifiable threat, stating: “any base used to invade Iranian territory is our legitimate target”.

The attempted 27 September attack on RAF Fairford resulted in the arrest of six UK nationals who have all subsequently been released on bail. Burnham said on 30 September that “there are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend at RAF Fairford”.

Tehran has strongly denied any involvement.

The USAF describes Fairford as “the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe” for the service’s Global Strike Command. The base features “one of the longest flightlines in the UK and supports a variety of missions and exercises”, the air force says.

Deployment of bombers to the base began in early March, during Operation Epic Fury. Around 24 bombers were deployed to RAF Fairford simultaneously, with the peak of deployment having seen approximately 18 B-1Bs and six Boeing B-52H bombers operating from the base.

Following a tenuous ceasefire with Iran in April, the bombers transitioned primarily to training missions, with the B-52s having departed for the US several months ago. Notably, one B-1B that had arrived only a week previously was included in the departure on 4 October.

The USAF’s two main operating bases in the UK are RAF Lakenheath – which accommodates Lockheed Martin F-35A and Boeing F-15E strike aircraft – and RAF Mildenhall, with tankers and other support types. Both located in Suffolk, those sites host US aircraft on a permanent basis.

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