The United States Air Force has pulled every bomber out of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the base that British authorities say was the target of a suspected terror plot. The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday 4 October 2026 that all the aircraft deployed there had returned to their home stations in the United States. The move comes about a week after five men were arrested near the airfield, and while counter-terrorism police are still examining whether a foreign state, possibly Iran, was involved. Iran denies any role.
US Bombers Withdrawn From RAF Fairford
In a statement issued on Sunday, a Pentagon official said all US bombers that had been deployed to RAF Fairford were now back at their home stations. The official added that operational security had prevented the military from confirming the movements while they were under way, and stressed that B-1, B-2 and B-52 crews can deliver long-range strikes launched from and recovered in the continental United States. US European Command also confirmed that the aircraft were heading home, but it did not discuss any specific threat information.
The New York Times, citing two unnamed US officials, reported that all 12 B-1 bombers at the base were withdrawn quickly after fresh warnings about a suspected Iran-backed plot. At least three of the aircraft had reached their home base in South Dakota by Sunday, the newspaper said. It also reported that some planes and crews left before refuelling tankers had been arranged, an indication of how urgent the decision was. One official told the paper that the new information related to threat warnings first received about three weeks earlier, but that more specific details emerged during the previous 24 hours.
The departure follows an earlier reduction in the force. Getty Images captions from the base noted that six B-52 Stratofortress bombers flew back across the Atlantic late last month, leaving around a dozen B-1B Lancers. The number of bombers at Fairford had peaked at between 21 and 23 earlier this year.
How the Suspected Terror Plot Unfolded
The alert began in the early hours of Sunday 27 September, when emergency services received two calls about suspicious activity near the base, including three vans parked in an unusual way and a group of hooded, masked men. Al Jazeera reported that the first call was made by one of the men who was later arrested.
Police arrested five British men in their twenties, from London, in the nearby Whelford area on suspicion of explosives offences. Counter Terrorism Policing then took over the inquiry and re-arrested them on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act. Searches of the vans turned up a quantity of petrol, but police said no explosives or weapons were found.
All five men were released on bail on Monday 28 September. Laurence Taylor, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said they remain subject to stringent conditions on their movement and contact with others.
A sixth arrest followed on Thursday 1 October, when a 25-year-old [VERIFY: age reported as 25 by PA and Al Jazeera, 27 by CBS News] UK-Iranian dual national was detained in Westminster, central London, on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, the same offence cited for the other five. He was released on bail on Saturday 3 October, and searches at two London properties have ended. Police say the wider investigation continues. The Times has reported that he is being looked at as a possible recruiter in the plot, but police have not confirmed that, and none of the six has been named or, according to reports, charged.
Why RAF Fairford Matters to US Air Power
RAF Fairford sits on the Gloucestershire–Wiltshire border, roughly 100 miles west of London. It has been described as the US Air Force's only European airfield for heavy bombers, and it has hosted American bomber deployments for years, including B-52 rotations in 2019 and 2020 under the Bomber Task Force concept.
Its role grew this year. After first refusing Washington permission to use British bases for attacks on Iran, then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer allowed the US to use them for defensive strikes against Iranian missile sites. B-52s and B-1s followed, and Al Jazeera reported in March that B-1B bombers had landed at Fairford after what appeared to be the first American strike mission against Iran launched from a British base.
The base has also been a flashpoint before. In 2003, activists known as the Fairford Five broke in and damaged equipment to disrupt military operations at the start of the Iraq War, and in 2025 jets were sprayed with paint in a break-in at another RAF station, Brize Norton, which led to arrests under terrorism law.
What the UK Has Said About an Iran Link
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the BBC on Wednesday 30 September that there were strong indications Iran had played a part in what happened at the base, while stressing that the police investigation is ongoing, complex and serious. He did not say what the suspects may have been planning or what intelligence underpinned the assessment, promising only to update people in due course.
Counter Terrorism Policing has been more cautious. Vicki Evans, its senior national coordinator, has described the inquiry as hugely complex and said specialist teams are pursuing several lines of inquiry, including possible foreign state involvement. No specific state has been named by police.
Iran has rejected the claims. Its Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Majid Takht-Ravanch, dismissed them as false and absurd, and the Iranian embassy in London earlier described the speculation as unfounded and malicious. Iran's foreign ministry also summoned the British ambassador, Hugo Shorter, on Thursday to protest. Separately, Iran has previously warned that bases used to launch attacks on its territory could be treated as legitimate targets.
Security specialists quoted by Al Jazeera offered cautious readings. Chris Phillips, a former head of the UK's National Counter Terrorism Security Office, suggested suspects could have been recruited online by foreign actors to carry out damaging acts such as arson, while Andrew Silke, a criminologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, said some suspects may have been involved unknowingly or only peripherally. Afzal Ashraf, a former senior RAF officer, noted that bail does not necessarily mean the incident was minor or that the Iran hypothesis has been dropped. These are expert opinions, not findings of the investigation.
MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said last year that plots attributed to Iran and Russia on British soil have involved surveillance, sabotage, arson or physical violence.
Reactions From Washington and Jerusalem
In Washington, President Donald Trump said the case might be linked to Iran and that the US had been watching the suspects for a long time. He criticised the decision to free the first five men on bail, saying he was disappointed and that the US had been involved in the investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had warned British authorities about an Iranian-sponsored attack shortly before Britain announced a ban on trade with settlements in the West Bank, though he did not specify, according to Al Jazeera, whether this concerned the Fairford incident. Burnham has said the UK is working closely with American counterparts.
Key Facts and Figures
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Withdrawal confirmed: Sunday 4 October 2026, with the Pentagon saying all bombers deployed to Fairford are back at US home stations.
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Aircraft: The New York Times reported 12 B-1 bombers left, with at least three landing in South Dakota by Sunday.
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Incident: Sunday 27 September, with three vans near the base and a quantity of petrol found, but no explosives.
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Arrests: Six in total, five British nationals in their twenties and one UK-Iranian dual national, all released on bail.
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Offence cited: Preparing terrorist acts under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.
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Iran's position: Denies any involvement.
Wider Impact
For the US military, the practical effect is immediate: the heavy bombers that had operated from Fairford against Iranian targets are no longer based in Britain. The Pentagon has underlined that long-range strike missions can still be flown from the continental United States, although such flights are naturally longer than sorties launched from the UK.
The timing is notable. Reports say President Trump is weighing further military action against Iran, and the US is sending additional naval forces to the Middle East, including a third aircraft carrier, a US official told Al Jazeera.
For the UK, the episode tests the security of foreign forces hosted on British soil, with ministers pointing towards Iran while police have not named any state. The bail decisions have drawn criticism from Trump, though the experts cited above say bail can reflect a judgement that suspects posed no imminent danger rather than a lack of seriousness.
What We Do Not Yet Know
Several central questions remain open. Police have not said what the men were allegedly planning, or whether the petrol found in the vans was meant to be used against the base. The evidence behind the UK government's Iran assessment has not been made public. It is also unclear whether the new warnings that prompted the US withdrawal relate to the same group of suspects or to a wider threat, and neither Washington nor London has said whether or when bombers will return to Fairford. Finally, no charges have been reported against any of the six.
As of Monday 5 October 2026, the position is that all US bombers have left RAF Fairford, six men are on bail, and the investigation into events near the base remains active. Further updates are expected from Counter Terrorism Policing, the UK government and the Pentagon.
