US Air Force redeploys bombers from British base after suspected Iranian plot

The U.S. Air Force has redeployed all of its bombers from RAF Fairford in Britain back to their home stations in the United States following a suspected terrorist plot targeting the base, which British authorities have said may have involved Iran.

The move comes amid an ongoing investigation into an apparent attempt by Iranian agents to carry out an attack against the base, located about 100 miles west of London.

British authorities arrested five men near the base on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, while a sixth man, a dual British-Iranian national, was later arrested in connection with the investigation. All six have since been released on bail.

“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 redeployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesman wrote in an email to journalists.

The bombers deployed to Fairford included B-1 Lancers, which have been heavily used by the U.S. military from the base during recent air campaigns against Iran. The U.S. military has emphasized that its bomber force remains capable of carrying out global strike missions from bases in the continental United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump told journalists on Saturday that “We have decisions that I’ll make about Iran. Iran’s been decimated. So the only question is, it’ll either be the easy way, or the hard way.”

In related developments, the Pentagon has deployed additional forces to the Middle East in recent days, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and the USS Malkin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes approximately 2,000 deployable Marines and their equipment.

The moves could bring the number of U.S. aircraft carriers in the region to three by the end of October.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week there were “strong indications” Iran was involved in the incident at RAF Fairford. British authorities arrested five men after investigating suspicious activity near the base, including the presence of several vans.

Some of the men were British-Iranian dual nationals and all those arrested have since been released on bail.

Trump criticized the decision to release the suspects but Burnham said, “We will say more in due course, but we can confirm that we believe Iran to have played a part.”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said during an interview with Fox News last week that “the hands of a foreign actor” were involved and that “I think it ties us to the reality here. We are dealing with elements in the world, and in the case of Iran, for example, who have openly threatened to attack American interests globally.”

British authorities have also accused Tehran of working with local criminal gangs in several European cities to foment arson attacks against Jewish community centers and businesses in an attempt to sow chaos and fear in Jewish communities and the general population.

The recent events also reflect a growing awareness among military planners that large and expensive weapons systems such as strategic bombers can be vulnerable while on the ground to teams of operatives using relatively small and inexpensive drones launched from nearby platforms.

The Russian Air Force has lost several strategic bombers and other aircraft to similar attacks during its war against Ukraine.

According to the website of the USAF’s 501st Combat Support Wing, which is deployed to RAF Fairford, the mission of the unit is “To provide agile combat support enabling ISR, global strike, and C3 missions for US and NATO operations. We serve 9 Combatant Commands and 65 DoD, DoS, NSA, and NATO missions. We are combat support experts, and we deliver on our commitments.”