US bombers vanish overnight from England. Nobody will say why.

The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday, 5 October, that the United States has withdrawn all of its B-1 bombers from the British military base RAF Fairford. According to British media, this was around a dozen aircraft. The US Department of Defense gave no official reason.

"We can now confirm that all US bombers stationed at RAF Fairford have returned to their home bases in the US." (translated)

Fairford, in south-west England, has been used by the US Air Force for decades as a forward operating location, and it is also linked to Global Strike Command. In recent months, bombers carrying out strikes on targets in Iran have flown from this base. Each mission took twelve to fifteen hours one way.

The withdrawal follows an incident on 27 September, when British police received an emergency call about three suspicious vehicles near the base. They first arrested five men on suspicion of terrorism-related offences, then released them under investigation. Later they detained a sixth man, a British-Iranian citizen, who was also released under investigation. According to CNN, no explosives were found in the three vans that were searched.

A few days after the event, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said there were "strong indications" that Iran had played a role in what happened around the base.

"There are strong indications that Iran played a role in the events at RAF Fairford." (translated)

Washington spoke in similar terms. President Donald Trump said those involved in the plot intended to cause great damage and that the United Kingdom had worked closely with the US on the matter. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pointed to the involvement of a foreign actor but gave no details.

Iran rejected any involvement and called the accusations unfounded. Tehran summoned the British ambassador over them, and Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi urged London to change what he called its inappropriate approach to Iran. Iran had already announced in June that any base used for attacks on Iranian territory counts as a legitimate target for its forces.

Another oddity, pointed out by US broadcaster CNN: the bombers were not moved to a neighbouring base in the region but sent straight back to the US. The British Ministry of Defence did not comment on the withdrawal. According to the BBC, it was reportedly a military rather than a political decision by the US military, and British allies were only informed of it.

The Pentagon stressed that US bomber forces remain capable of carrying out missions.

"Anywhere and anytime, including operations that begin and end on US territory." (translated)