Four US bombers have landed at RAF Fairford to carry out “specific defensive operations” following the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, the Ministry of Defence (Mod) said on Saturday.
This came after Sir Keir Starmer gave permission for UK airbases to be used by the US for defensive operations, such as destroying Iranian missile sites. Starmer had initially refusing to do so, drawing sharp criticism from Donald Trump.
One B-1 Lancer landed on Friday evening, with the other three arriving on Saturday.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said that he expected the US to launch missions from the Gloucestershire base “within the next few days”, following US warnings that strikes on Iran would “surge dramatically”.
Why are US bombers stationed at RAF Fairford?
On Saturday, the MoD issued an update on its operations in the Middle East, stating that the US had “started using British bases for specific defensive operations to prevent Iran firing missiles into the region”.
Whilst the US can launch bombing missions from its own domestic airbases, the distances are much longer than flying from bases in Europe and the Middle East.
In some of the earlier strikes on Iran, US B-2 Spirit bombers flew a 37-hour round trip from Missouri. Using Fairford would halve the time that the bombers would have to spend in the air.
B-1 Lancer bombers at RAF Fairford on 8 March after the UK allowed the US to use its bases to launch ‘defensive’ strikes against Iranian missile sites (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)“The implication of a shorter flight is that they can recover their aircraft more quickly, repair, refuel, rearm, rotate and then put them back into action,” said Matthew Ford, a senior lecturer in international relations at the University of Sussex.
He added that flight times and costs for the US were much lower when flying missions from the UK.
Earlier this week, Trump warned Iran that “the big one” was coming, suggesting that these bombers and others could be deployed against Iranian targets.
Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, said: “When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently”.
How has Fairford been used in the past?
Originally built in 1944 in preparation for D-Day, RAF Fairford later became a key Cold War base for the US due to its almost two-mile-long runway. This makes it one of only two bases in Europe that can host all three of the US air force’s long-range bombers: the B-1, the B-2 and the B-52 Stratofortress.
As a result, Fairford has been used in many past conflicts the US has been involved in.
RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire was built in 1944 in preparation for D-Day (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP)The base was a significant asset for the US in 1986 when it was used as a staging post for air-to-air refuelling tankers during the US attack on the Gaddafi regime in Libya. It was also used during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 against Saddam Hussein in Iraq, as well as the Nato air campaign in Kosovo in 1999 and the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Last year, the US sent two B-52s to Fairford to take part in a multinational training exercise.
What can the bombers at Fairford do?
So far only four B-1 bombers have made their way to RAF Fairford. However, it is expected that more stealth bombers will join them, namely B-2s and B-52s.
The air strikes on Iran began primarily with drones and ballistic missiles, but Mark Cancian, a defence and security senior adviser at the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the war “is now in a situation, with US having air dominance over Iran, that we can use the B-1s and B-52s”.
B-1 bombers, which were first built in the 1980s, cost around £1.5bn and can carry a payload of up to 34 tonnes.
“The B-1 started as nuclear and conventional [bombers], now it’s only conventional,” said Cancian, discussing the time of weaponry it carries. “It’s partly stealthy, not as stealthy as a B-2, but more stealthy than most aircraft that size.”
It is expected that the B-1s at Fairford will be joined by B-2s, a newer model that can carry up to 18.4 tonnes of conventional munitions.
A B-2 stealth bomber in May 2003. These are newer than the B-1 and can carry a payload of 18.4 tonnes (Photo: Joe McNally/Getty)Cancian said B-2s need a lot of maintenance to service their high levels of stealth. “They need special hangars and special facilities. I imagine they’re going to be used in case there’s some target that they want to strike where there’s still some remaining air defence.”
B-52 bombers, meanwhile, which are also likely to be stationed at Fairford, can carry a payload of up to 32 tonnes, including nuclear missiles. They have been in service in the US air force since 1955.
“B-52s are used both for nuclear and conventional missions, so they can carry nuclear missiles, bombs, or Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) which convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions,” said Cancian.
He added that bombers would provide a huge benefit to the US in terms of costs in Iran. The US has been using long-range precision missiles against Iranian targets, but a single Tomahawk missile costs around £3m, whereas a JDAM costs about £60,000. “It has the same explosive impact so it’s a huge difference on cost and inventories.”
Reaction to the bombers arriving in the UK
Starmer’s decision to allow the US to use British airbases for operations against Iran has prompted opposition from across the political spectrum, as well as from inside his own Cabinet.
Cabinet ministers including Yvette Cooper, Shabana Mahmood, Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves opposed allowing the US to use RAF bases at a National Security Council meeting on 27 February, the day before the US-Israeli strikes began, according to a report by The Spectator.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has heavily criticised the US’s “war of choice” that he said was “being waged unilaterally without any international consensus or UN approval, or any serious strategy as to what comes next”.
On Saturday anti-war protesters gathered outside RAF Fairford to voice their displeasure at the presence of the US bombers on UK soil.
Your next read
square WORLD Analysis‘Anointed by Jesus’: The Christian ‘zealotry’ underpinning Trump’s Iran mission
square MIDDLE EAST AnalysisIran’s plot to turn Trump’s glory war into his worst nightmare
square WORLD AnalysisWhy Gulf states are still not fighting Iran despite being pounded by its missiles
square IRAN CRISIS InterviewI was an American hostage in Iran for 444 days. Trump’s war is absolutely moronic
Hence then, the article about the west country airbase home to trump s nuclear bombers ahead of iran missions was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The West Country airbase home to Trump’s nuclear bombers ahead of Iran missions )
Also on site :