US withdraws all B-1 bombers from UK's Fairford airbase after incident

All US Air Force B-1 strategic bombers stationed at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom have been withdrawn and returned to the United States, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing unnamed US administration officials. The withdrawal followed an incident at the base last week. About a dozen US strategic bombers had been deployed at the airbase.

The US military had used RAF Fairford as a landing point for bombers conducting strikes against Iran. The Pentagon confirmed the redeployment in a statement: "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."

The report did not specify the nature of the incident that prompted the withdrawal. The B-1 bombers are part of the US strategic bomber fleet and have been used in various operations in the Middle East. Their presence at Fairford had been a notable element of US force posture in Europe.

The withdrawal comes amid heightened tensions involving Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, though no direct link between the incident and these conflicts was stated. The US has periodically deployed bombers to Europe as a show of force and for joint exercises with allies.

According to Mehr News, which cited the WSJ report, the bombers have returned to their home stations in the United States. The Pentagon did not provide further details on the incident or the future of US bomber deployments to the base.