Arrests at US air force base: British police foil suspected terrorist attack

A major incident near one of Britain's most important military bases caused widespread excitement on Sunday. Prime Minister Andy Burnham canceled all appointments and his trip to the start of the ruling Labor Party's annual party conference in Liverpool at short notice after five men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism in front of Fairford air force base in the west of England.

According to police in Gloucestershire, where Fairford is located, British security forces responded to an emergency call at around 12:45 p.m. on Sunday night indicating three suspicious vehicles on the way to the base. The three white pickup trucks were parked near the village of Whelford on a small country road just outside the base.

Five men who were at the vehicles were arrested while special forces and special army facilities moved in to detect explosives. Robots examined the vehicles. Around 85 households were evacuated that night. Dozens of police cars and emergency vehicles were parked in the area ready for action.

RAF Fairford is located in the middle of the countryside in the idyllic English Cotswold region, approximately 30 kilometers north of Swindon. The British air base is the most important base for US long-range bombers in Europe. In the spring it served as a base for US forces before and after attacks on Iran. Among other things, B-52 and B-1 large bombers landed there.

In July, the Iranian government designated bases from which attacks against Iran were carried out as legitimate targets. Since late February, when the US attacks on Iran began, the streets around Fairford have been closed to the public and privacy measures have been put in place to prevent takeoffs and landings from being viewed from outside. In June, the US military announced an expansion of its facilities at the base.

Police announced in the afternoon that a cordon had been set up around the vehicles for safety while they continued to be examined. The investigation would now be carried out together with the British police's anti-terrorism unit. Photos of the suspects sitting on the ground after their arrest circulated on social media on Sunday morning. Footage showed those arrested with bare upper bodies, which suggests they were suspected of wearing explosive vests.

By midday it was said that the British police had the situation under control. But the USA declared the highest alert level for Fairford, and stricter security measures also apply at other military bases. Britain has been on high alert since last year. Terrorist attacks are officially considered very likely.

The head of MI5, Ken McCallum, warned last year that he was seeing more attempted attacks on the UK than ever before. He specifically addressed Iran, as well as Russian actors and pro-Palestinian activists. In 2025, activists from the group Palestine Action entered the Brize Norton air base in Oxfordshire, just 20 kilometers from Fairford, and caused damage to British tankers there.

In August, the Ministry of Defense also announced that around 340 incidents involving drones near British military infrastructure had been observed in the last twelve months, three times as many as two years earlier.