US withdraws all deployed bombers from RAF Fairford after suspected terror plot

New Delhi: The United States has withdrawn all bombers deployed at Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in Britain and returned them to their home stations in the US, a week after six people were detained in an investigation into a suspected terrorist plot targeting the base. Around a dozen B-1B Lancer bombers had remained at the Gloucestershire installation, which has been used for American strikes against Iranian targets.

The redeployment ends the current bomber deployment at Fairford but does not amount to a closure of US operations from the base. Washington has not announced whether or when bombers will return, nor has it publicly given a detailed operational reason for moving the aircraft.

“While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesman said in an emailed statement. The US military added that crews operating B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers remained capable of launching precision long-range missions from the continental U.S.

The Pentagon has not publicly said the suspected plot prompted the redeployment, but Whitehall sources did not dispute that the decision followed the Fairford incident, according to the BBC. The broadcaster was also told that the move was a military rather than political decision, taken at an operational level and communicated by the US military to its British counterparts. The UK defence ministry declined to comment.

Flight tracking websites also showed B-1 bombers departing RAF Fairford on Sunday, providing visible confirmation of the redeployment.

The security inquiry began on September 27 after police received a report of three suspicious vehicles apparently travelling towards RAF Fairford. Five British men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of offences under explosives legislation and preparation of a terrorist act.

No improvised explosive devices were found, although a quantity of petrol was recovered from the vehicles, British counterterrorism police later said. All five men were released on bail and remain under investigation, developments covered earlier by RNA Media.

A 25-year-old dual British-Iranian national was subsequently arrested in London on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts in connection with the Fairford inquiry and was also released on bail.

The US had also raised the possibility of foreign involvement before the latest arrest. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Fox News days after the Fairford incident that it “clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor”, without publicly identifying that actor. Rubio did not elaborate, saying he was limited in what he could discuss on air at the time.

The US president, Donald Trump, had also described the suspected plot as potentially serious, saying those involved had planned “big damage”. He did not publicly identify who he believed was behind the alleged plan.

The British prime minister, Andy Burnham, has said there are “strong indications” that Iran played a part in the Fairford incident, while stressing that the investigation remains ongoing. Counterterrorism police have been more cautious, saying one line of inquiry is whether individuals acted knowingly or unknowingly on behalf of a foreign state. Tehran rejected allegations linking it to the suspected plot as baseless and summoned the British ambassador in protest.

RAF Fairford is the US air force global strike command’s preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe. American B-1 and B-52 aircraft have operated from the base during the conflict with Iran, and Britain had authorized US bombers based there to strike Iranian missile sites that were attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The 12 aircraft remaining immediately before Sunday’s departure were B-1B Lancers. Their return to US home stations removes them from a forward location closer to West Asia but does not take them out of the American long-range strike force.

British investigators have not publicly established Iranian responsibility, and Washington has announced no timetable for another bomber deployment to RAF Fairford.