The US Air Force has confirmed that all American bombers deployed to RAF Fairford have left the Gloucestershire airbase and returned to the United States.
The announcement was made on Sunday night, with the US Air Force saying operational security had prevented it from confirming the movements while they were taking place.
The withdrawal covers US bomber aircraft which had been deployed to the UK base.
A US Air Force spokesperson said: “US Air Force bombers routinely operate around the world to support global force readiness and operational requirements.
“While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time, we can acknowledge now that all US bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States.”
US bomber force remains on standby
The US Air Force stressed that the redeployment does not affect its ability to conduct long-range missions from bases in America.
It added: “The Airmen that operate America’s bomber force, including B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s, remain ready to deliver precision global strike capabilities – including through operations that launch and recover from the continental United States – anywhere, anytime.”
RAF Fairford is regularly used by the United States Air Force for bomber deployments and other operations in Europe.
The confirmation comes amid heightened attention surrounding the Gloucestershire base following recent security incidents in the area.
No further details have yet been released about the timing of the aircraft departures or whether further US bomber deployments to RAF Fairford are planned.
