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US President Donald Trump has confirmed that B-2 strategic bombers stationed at the Royal Air Force base at Fairford in Britain have been recalled to their main bases in the United States. The White House said the move was prompted by security concerns. “There were some threats. We think the people behind them have been identified and that they are linked to Iran,” he said.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the Pentagon also announced the strategic bombers had returned to the United States.
The decision followed the sighting of suspicious vehicles near Fairford base on September 27 and the subsequent arrests of five British citizens on suspicion of possessing explosives and terrorism. A dual British-Iranian national was arrested on October 1. Iran’s leadership has firmly denied any involvement in the incidents.
David Dunn, a professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, called the move “historic and unprecedented,” saying that the withdrawal of aircraft from a base Washington has used as a strategic hub during crises underscored the seriousness of the security risks. Fairford is a NATO reserve deployment site and a key forward operating base for US Air Force bombers in Europe.
However, military experts say the withdrawal of the B-2s from Britain has not reduced the United States’ military capabilities against Iran. Daniya Thafer, an expert at Georgetown University, noted that during Operation Midnight Hammer on June 21, 2025, B-2 bombers flew directly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Analysts say the aircraft may have been withdrawn from Britain for one of two reasons: Washington may be protecting its strategic aircraft from anticipated threats, or it may be preparing for possible future air operations by relocating them to safer, harder-to-track deployment sites.
