Five men, allegedly in their mid-20s, were arrested, and explosives were recovered from three vans parked near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

Five British nationals are in custody in the UK on Monday following a thwarted terrorist attack on Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford, a major UK airbase in Gloucestershire, England. The base is currently used as a key European forward operating location for the United States Air Force, hosting the headquarters of the 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron.

The facility, which features one of the longest, fully unrestricted flightlines in the UK, serves as the US Air Force Global Strike Command’s preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe, supporting strategic bombers, notably the B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit, and B-52 Stratofortress aircraft during overseas operations. The bombers routinely deploy from the facility for exercises and real-world operations, including the 1991 Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and most recently the ongoing war with Iran.

The five men have not been named, but were reportedly from London and in their mid-20s. They were detained on Sunday after RAF personnel spotted three unmarked civilian vans near the base. They were initially held over suspected explosive offenses and were later arrested on suspicion of preparing an act of terror.

Under British law, suspects can be held in custody for up to 14 days before charges must be filed or they are released. However, British police later claimed that the materials recovered in the incident were “not viable explosives,” and the five suspects were released on bail.

Investigators have yet to conclude whether the incident was a state-backed attack, and are investigating any potential ties to Iran, Russia, or non-state actors and militant groups. Iran has denied involvement in the foiled plot.

RAF Fairford Is a Vital US Air Hub—and an Attractive Target

RAF Fairford, which is located about 85 miles (137 km) west of London, opened in January 1944 during World War II. It was from Fairford that nearly 900 paratroopers and glider personnel took off and then dropped into Normandy during the opening hours of the D-Day invasion of France on June 5-6, 1944.

The facility has remained active for more than 80 years since the end of the war, serving as a British and US military base. In the early 1950s, the base was formally transferred to the US Air Force for strategic bomber operations. Its runway was soon lengthened to nearly two miles to support the B-52. It has hosted the KC-135 Stratotanker task forces since 1979, and it can also accommodate U-2 reconnaissance aircraft missions. Finally, RAF Fairford is designated as an emergency Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site for the NASA Space Shuttle; an orbiter landed at the facility in August 1983.

RAF Fairford hosts the annual Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the world’s largest military airshow. This year’s airshow was canceled due to operational demands from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The show is scheduled to return in 2027, provided the situation with Iran is resolved—an assumption that seems increasingly unclear as the conflict has dragged on.

Terrorists Have Struck US Military Facilities Before

There is good reason for concern about the suspected plot. US military facilities have already been targeted this year; six US servicemembers were killed in a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift tactical operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait. In that attack, a projectile penetrated air defenses and struck a reinforced triple-wide trailer structure.

That strike was one of at least 16 American military sites in the Middle East that have been hit in missile and drone strikes, damaging or destroying hundreds of structures.

In January 2024, an Iran-linked proxy group struck a logistics support base in Jordan, killing three US Army soldiers and injuring dozens more.

There have also been past acts of terror carried out on US military facilities overseas.

This included the June 1996 bombing of Khobar Tower housing complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 airmen and injuring more than 400 US and international military personnel and civilians. The building housed coalition forces supporting Operation Southern Watch, the no-fly zone operation in southern Iraq.

In October 2000, suicide terrorists detonated a small boat laden with explosives alongside the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) as it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden.

Most notoriously, a pair of suicide truck bomb attacks targeted American and French peacekeeping forces in Beirut, Lebanon, in October 1983. The attack killed more than 300 people, including 220 US Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers. It was the deadliest single-day death toll for the US Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

The post British Police Foil Suspected Bomb Plot Against RAF Airbase appeared first on The National Interest.