Submission Statement: Warnings about a possible Iranian drone attack on the UK-US air base at RAF Fairford led the US to withdraw 12 B-1 bombers from the facility over the weekend, officials said on Tuesday.
Washington believed the suspected plot could have involved short-range weaponised drones launched at a distance from the air base to strike aircraft and personnel inside, the officials added.
The abrupt withdrawal of the aircraft from RAF Fairford, a vital foreign US military installation from which it has launched bombing raids against Iran, followed the arrest of five men near the base on suspicion of terrorism late last month.
The suspected plan to strike the base in Gloucestershire has echoes of the Ukrainian attack on Russia’s strategic bomber fleet known as “Operation Spiderweb” in June 2025. In that incident, Ukrainian teams infiltrated explosive-laden drones near air bases in Russia and destroyed nearly a dozen aircraft on the ground.
A drone attack on an air base would mark a significant departure from the past pattern of Iran-linked activity in the UK.
Police and security forces have disrupted scores of Iranian plots in the UK in recent years. They have included several arson incidents, such as the firebombing of a synagogue at Kenton in north-west London in April.
Such plots have also been heavily reliant on hired proxies, some of whom have been misled about the nature of what they were doing.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there were “strong indications” that Iran was involved in the incident near Fairford. Tehran has denied any role.
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