Pentagon Pulls All B-1 Bombers From RAF Fairford After Suspected Plot

The Pentagon said Sunday that every U.S. bomber stationed at RAF Fairford has left the Gloucestershire base and returned to home stations in the United States, a week after British police broke up a suspected plot at the field used to strike Iran.

A Pentagon spokesperson said operational security had kept the movement quiet in real time. “We can acknowledge now that all U.S. bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States.” The same statement said crews flying B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s “remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities — including through operations that launch and recover from the continental United States — anywhere, anytime.”

The aircraft that left were a dozen B-1B Lancers. Spotters filmed them departing on Oct. 4. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that one of the jets had arrived only last week as a rotation replacement and left with the rest. The New York Times, citing two U.S. officials, said commanders received new information over the weekend that was part of the same threat warnings from last month, this time with specific details and greater urgency. At least three of the bombers had reached Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota by Sunday, according to officials quoted by the Times.

Fairford, about 100 miles west of London, has been the main European bed-down for U.S. heavy bombers in the Iran war. Britain authorized the United States to fly defensive strikes from the base against Iranian missile sites firing on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At the peak of Operation Epic Fury the field held about two dozen bombers, roughly 18 B-1s and half a dozen B-52s. The B-52s left months ago. The open-source group Military Air Tracking Alliance has logged 29 separate bombers through Fairford at different points in the conflict. Since a shaky ceasefire in April, the remaining jets have mostly flown training sorties. Parking them in England cut the flight time to Iranian targets. The Pentagon’s line Sunday was that the same targets can still be hit from the United States.

The pullout follows arrests on Sept. 27. Counter Terrorism Policing detained five British men in their twenties, from London, after three vans were seen near the base. Officers evacuated nearby homes and searched the vehicles. A sixth man, a 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national, was later arrested in central London. All six have been released on bail. No charges have been announced. The investigation is still open, including the question of foreign-state involvement.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were “strong indications” Iran played a part. President Trump said the suspects had planned “big damage” and that U.S. intelligence had them “under view for a long time.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to the “hands of a foreign actor.” The Wall Street Journal reported that a senior U.S. official said an individual linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recruited British citizens for a multi-stage operation that included a diversion near the base. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel passed Britain intelligence on the plot. Iran’s embassy in London said it “categorically rejects” any link, and Tehran summoned the British ambassador.

The IRGC had already named Fairford. Air & Space Forces Magazine reported that the Guard said in July it considered the base a legitimate target because of the U.S. bombers there.