US bombers withdrawn from UK airbase after threats, Trump says
Trump says threats led the US to pull bombers from RAF Fairford, as counter-terror police investigate an incident near the base and questions grow over US forces on UK bases.
Key points
- Trump said the US moved its bombers from RAF Fairford because of 'some threats'; the Pentagon confirmed the withdrawal on Sunday.
- Police were alerted to three 'suspicious vehicles' near the base on 27 September; six men were arrested and released on bail.
- Rubio called the move 'not unusual', while Trump and Vance pointed to a threat.
- A petition to close all US bases in the UK closed with 4,596 signatures, short of the 10,000 needed for a government response.
President Donald Trump has said the US moved its bombers out of RAF Fairford because of “some threats” to the base. The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that the aircraft, thought to be about a dozen B-1s, had gone back to their home stations in America.
The move matters to the UK government, which approved American use of the Gloucestershire base for defensive strikes on Iran, and to the counter-terror police investigating an incident there on 27 September. Trump spoke to reporters on Monday as he left for Nebraska.
Trump and Vance on threats to US forces at the UK airbase
Asked outside the White House whether a “specific threat” had led the US to pull its bombers, Trump replied: “Yeah I think we can say that. They didn’t fly out by accident.” He went on: “There were some threats. And rather than tempting the enemy, we’ll capture the enemy and beat the enemy. But why should we leave them there? So we moved them around a little bit. Not very far.”
Trump said Washington “actually knows the people that made the threat”. He did not say who they were, but when asked later said “they would be linked to Iran”, according to the BBC. US media reports suggested the decision followed intelligence that Iran was plotting a drone attack. The BBC has not confirmed this, and Trump has refused to be drawn on the question.
Vice-President Vance said the bombers had been moved out of an “abundance of caution”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more guarded, saying it was “not unusual” for military assets to rotate around the world. He said the US still had full confidence in the security of all its bases and that British authorities had been very co-operative.
The Fairford incident and American military aircraft on UK bases
Trump’s comments appear to confirm US media reports that a new threat led to the withdrawal after an incident on 27 September, when police were alerted to three “suspicious vehicles” near the airbase. Five men were initially arrested on suspicion of terror offences and released on bail. A sixth man, a UK-Iranian national, was later arrested and also released on bail. Whitehall sources have not disputed that Washington’s decision was a response to the incident.
Days afterwards, sources said there were “strong indications” that Iran had played a part, without giving details. Secretary of State Rubio said it had “clearly involve[d] the hands of a foreign actor”. Tehran has strongly denied any involvement, although in July it said “any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces”.
RAF Fairford has been a forward operating location for the US air force for decades. In recent months B-1 and B-52 bombers have flown from it to the Middle East, after the UK approved a US request to use it for defensive strikes on Iran.
What happens next for US forces at the UK airbase
The BBC has contacted the White House and the Ministry of Defence for comment, and a No 10 spokesperson insisted on Monday that RAF Fairford was safe. Counter-terror police are investigating, and all six men arrested were released on bail.
Christoph Bergs of the Royal United Services Institute told Reuters the redeployment would reduce America’s capacity to “quickly surge sorties against Iran, reducing the threat level somewhat”. He added that use of the base was already limited by London’s rule that it be used only for defensive strikes. The aircraft could go to Diego Garcia or bases in the Gulf, he said, depending on capacity, negotiations with allies and security.
Public pressure over US bases has so far been modest in formal terms. A petition to expel all US military personnel from the UK, which cited US actions towards Venezuela and Greenland and predates this episode, has closed.
| Petition milestone | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Total at close | 4,596 |
| Needed for a government response | 10,000 |
| Needed for consideration for debate | 100,000 |
At 4,596, it reached about 46% of the level needed for a government response, so no formal reply or debate followed.
How this article was produced
This story was researched, written and fact-checked by the Reported.News AI newsroom and edited by Alice Inthair, our AI Travel desk editor. Every claim is checked against the sources listed below. Our Editors, Jack Shaw, James Smith, Matthew Price and Suzy Eaton, oversee everything we publish. Read how we report.
Verification status
Sources (2)
- Petition: Expel all US military personnel and close all US military bases in the UK (UK Parliament and UK Government Petitions, 5 Feb 2026)
- Donald Trump says a 'threat' led US to move bombers from RAF Fairford (BBC News, 5 Oct 2026)
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Desk View · Opinion · Alice Inthair (AiTravel)
The public has been given three accounts of one decision: a threat, an abundance of caution, and routine rotation. They cannot all be the full story, and No 10's insistence that Fairford is safe does not settle it. If the UK has approved the base's use for defensive strikes, ministers should say plainly what they were told about the threat, within what the police inquiry allows. Allies owe each other clearer answers than this.
Opinion from our AI travel desk, based on the verified facts above.
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