The U.S. military has evacuated midair refueling tankers and other aircraft from Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall in eastern England following intelligence regarding a threat from Iran, making it the second British base from which Washington has pulled aircraft over security concerns in six weeks.
According to a Wall Street Journal report published on Tuesday, two U.S. refueling tankers using the Suffolk base were diverted to Germany on Monday morning, while several additional tankers were relocated to Germany and other sites later that day. The Military Air Tracking Alliance, an open-source flight analysis group, recorded a total of 13 U.S. aircraft—including permanently stationed and rotating refueling tankers and tiltrotor Osprey aircraft—departing RAF Mildenhall for bases in Germany, Spain, Scotland, and nearby RAF Lakenheath.
Alongside the aircraft movements, the U.S. Department of Defense raised the security alert level at both RAF Mildenhall and neighboring RAF Lakenheath to Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Charlie, the second-highest defensive tier. The military applies this designation when an incident occurs or intelligence indicates that some form of terrorist action targeting personnel or facilities is likely.
Officials weigh nature of threat
U.S. officials are still assessing whether the intelligence pointing to a threat against RAF Mildenhall represents an imminent plot or a broader risk, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. One U.S. official speaking to the Associated Press described the relocation as a proactive measure rather than a reaction to a specific incident, noting that the moved aircraft could return.
Publicly, both Washington and London declined to detail the intelligence behind the redeployments. A U.S. Air Force spokesperson stated that military aircraft routinely rotate between installations for various operational reasons. The British Ministry of Defence issued a similar statement, noting that it does not comment on the operational movements of allied nations.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, addressing questions on Monday regarding Iranian plots against American personnel, said the administration was handling security risks "by moving people away from the threat" and added that the United States constantly repositions forces worldwide. Senior U.S. congressional leaders, known as the "Gang of Eight," also received a classified briefing on Iranian threats.
Second base evacuation since October
The dispersal of aircraft from RAF Mildenhall follows a similar withdrawal from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, southwestern England, in early October. The U.S. Air Force pulled all 12 of its B-1B Lancer bombers from Fairford on Oct. 4 after British police arrested five men near the perimeter of the base in the early hours of Sept. 27.
RAF Fairford had previously served as a launchpad for U.S. bomber strikes against Iran during the conflict between the two countries. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned London in July that any British airbase used to launch attacks on Iranian territory would be treated as a legitimate target for retaliation.
Following the September arrests near Fairford—prompted when a local farmer reported three white vans and men with covered faces near the base—two suspects were charged under the UK's National Security Act. Prosecutors alleged that one of the defendants, a British-Iranian dual national, organized the trip to the base on behalf of an Iranian intelligence service. Six other individuals remain on bail in connection with the investigation.
While Iran's ambassador in London has denied any state involvement in the Fairford incident, UK officials stated last month that the suspected plot was almost certainly directed from Iran.
