Politics
United States Moves Military Aircraft From British Airbase Over Threat
The relocation follows previous security incidents involving Iranian threats and prompts heightened defense measures across British installations.
By Headlinne · Compiled from reporting by SMH.com.au, BBC, Al Jazeera and 2 others
The United States military moved aircraft from a second British airbase on Monday following a security threat linked to Iran.
More than 10 Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft departed from RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on Monday, with destinations including Germany, Spain and Scotland.
Three Osprey multipurpose aircraft also left the base and landed at nearby RAF Lakenheath.
The departures follow previous security incidents and come as tensions remain elevated over the war between the United States and Iran.
The United States upgraded security at both RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath to Force Protection Condition Charlie, the second-highest defensive threat level.
“We do not routinely comment on the activity of other nations. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements,” said a British Ministry of Defence spokesperson.
Downing Street insisted that British airbases remain safe.
“The protection of our bases, both in the UK and across the world, is a top priority,” said the prime minister's official spokesperson.
Liberal Democrats defence spokesperson James MacCleary challenged that assessment on social media.
“It seems like every other day now the security of our airfields is either compromised or under threat,” said MacCleary.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she could not comment on ongoing operational matters.
“We take the security and safety of our bases incredibly seriously and we will always act on security intelligence when we need to,” said Powell.
The United States previously removed B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in September after five men were arrested outside that facility.
Two of the men were later charged on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence.
British officials have stated that the September incident was likely coordinated in Iran.
Tehran has denied involvement in plots against the airbases, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has called bases used to launch attacks against Iran legitimate targets.
It remains unclear when the relocated aircraft will return to RAF Mildenhall or how long the heightened threat posture will remain in place.
Reporting from
- SMH.com.auBalanced
US aircraft evacuated from second British base due to Iran threat: report
- BBCBalanced
US military aircraft leave second UK base, report says
- Al JazeeraBalanced
US moves aircraft from second UK base over ‘threat from Iran’
- Times of IndiaBalanced
Mystery threat puts US bases in Britain on high alert, aircraft shifted
- Al-MonitorBalanced
US aircraft evacuated from second British base due to Iran threat, WSJ reports
How this article was made: Headlinne wrote it with AI from the 5 reports listed above. Direct quotes are checked word for word against those reports, every number appears in at least one of them, and no other sentence is copied from one. Photos are from those reports and credited to them. Each report’s page on Headlinne links to the outlet’s original.