US removes B-1 bombers from UK base over Iran 'terrorist plot', expert reveals 'vulnerability': What we know so far

The United States (US) has withdrawn all B-1 bombers from Britain’s RAF Fairford airbase, a base used for US strikes on Iran, after five men were arrested on suspicion of a terror plot that British officials said could be linked to Tehran, Reuters reported on Sunday.

A dozen B-1 bombers were stationed at Fairford, northwest of London, which were used in American attacks on Iran.

“While operational security has prevented us from confirming the real-time movement of our assets and forces, we can now acknowledge that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States,” a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters.

“security concerns”

The Wall Street Journal first reported that the planes were removed due to security concerns due to suspected terrorist plans against the facility.

British authorities are reportedly investigating the possible involvement of a foreign state in the suspected plot.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday there were “strong indications” of Iranian involvement.

Aviation watchdog, the Military Air Tracking Alliance, has observed dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operating from RAF Fairford since the early days of the Iran War. On Sunday, observers noticed a line of B-1 bombers departing the base, the AP reported.

American bombers at the British base were “vulnerable drone attacks’

David des Roches, a professor at the Thayer Marshall Institute, told Al Jazeera that the Pentagon’s decision to remove its B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in the UK “should (have) been made a while ago”.

The base is at the center of an alleged security incident in which five men were arrested nearby on suspicion of plotting an attack.

Des Roches, a former Pentagon official, said the arrests “revealed a vulnerability” because the planes were “out in the open” and only about 300 yards (275 meters) from where the public could see them.

“So they were very vulnerable to, say, drone attacks or other kinds of mortar attacks,” Roches told Al Jazeera.

He said the US Air Force was “very slow to learn the lessons” of Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia’s fleet of strategic bombers in 2025, when Kiev claimed to have destroyed about 40 Russian military aircraft.

“We need to have some overhead cover for these aircraft. The ability to provide that is probably greater in Texas and South Dakota than in Gloucestershire,” he said.

“Just a small drone or any kind of drone with explosives on board could do significant damage. We’ve seen that you can get very close to them,” he said.

Des Roches acknowledged that the deployment of US bombers means “you lose a bit of operational capability”, but said that given the threat we see here, “we should have had all our aircraft, globally, overhead years ago”.

Where are the five arrested men?

Al Jazeera said five men arrested near the base had been released on bail, and Iran denied any involvement in the alleged plot there.

British investigators discovered petrol in the men’s vans but found no explosive devices. However, officials in the UK say they are still investigating.

Iran reacts

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over the matter and dismissed allegations linking Tehran to the alleged plot as baseless, Iran International said.

The British government has authorized the US to use Fairford-based bombers to strike Iran’s anti-ship missile sites in the Strait of Hormuz.