The US military removed all of its bombers from RAF Fairford, a British air base in Gloucestershire, on Sunday, a Pentagon official confirmed. The withdrawal involved approximately a dozen B-1 Lancer heavy bombers returning to their home stations in America.
The US did not publicly state a reason for the decision, but the timing follows a September 27 incident under investigation by UK counter-terror police. That day, three suspicious vehicles were reported near the airbase. Five UK nationals aged 23 to 25 were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and preparing a terrorist act, then released on bail. A sixth man, a 25-year-old UK-Iranian national, was arrested in London on Thursday and also released on bail.
Whitehall sources have not disputed that Washington's decision to withdraw the bombers was in response to the airbase incident. The BBC reported the decision was military rather than political, made at an operational level and communicated from US military leadership to British counterparts. The UK Ministry of Defence has not commented.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said days after the incident there were "strong indications" that Iran played a role, though he provided no details. Tehran has strongly denied involvement. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox News the incident "clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor" but declined to elaborate. President Donald Trump said he was "surprised" the five men had been released on bail, stating the US "would not have released them."
RAF Fairford has served as a forward operating location for the US Air Force for decades. In recent months, the US flew B-1 and B-52 bombers from the base for defensive strikes on Iran, after the UK approved the request. B-1 bombers carried precision-guided bunker-busting bombs and air-to-surface missiles. In July, Iran warned that "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces."
The Pentagon stated its bombing aircraft remain capable of conducting missions "anywhere, anytime," including through operations launching from the continental United States.