US bomber returned to US after incident in UK

The US military had transferred some of its bombers to Great Britain because of the Iran war. Now they have been ordered back home after an incident at the base.

The Pentagon has ordered all US bombers back home. (Archive photo) Photo: Alastair Grant/AP/dpa

Washington. After the incident at a US air base in Great Britain, the Pentagon has ordered back all of its long-range bombers. “We can now confirm that all US bombers stationed at RAF Fairford have returned to their home bases in the United States,” a US Department of Defense official said in response to a request for comment.

The US armed forces transferred additional long-range bombers to Great Britain in March in order to be able to act more flexibly in the war against Iran. The Pentagon emphasized in its current statement: "The pilots of the American bomber fleet, including B-1, B-2 and B-52, remain ready to carry out precision global strikes."

For reasons of operational security, the department was previously unable to comment on “movements of our resources and forces in real time,” it said. The US Department of Defense did not confirm any connection to the suspected planned terrorist attack at the end of September.

Five men are said to have prepared a terrorist attack

At that time, five men were picked up near the British military base RAF Fairford, which is used by the US Air Force. They are suspected of preparing a terrorist act and are also being investigated on suspicion of violations of the Explosives Act. They have since been released under strict conditions.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed evidence of a possible connection to Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken of the involvement of a “foreign actor”. According to the Wall Street Journal, around a dozen B-1 bombers were still stationed on site.

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