Downing Street has insisted that RAF Fairford remains a safe base for military operations, despite the United States having withdrawn all of its bombers from the Gloucestershire site. The Pentagon confirmed on Sunday that approximately a dozen B-1 bombers have been returned to their home stations in America.

The withdrawal follows a major incident on September 27 when police were alerted to three suspicious vehicles near the airbase. US media reports have since suggested that a new threat prompted the bombers' removal.

A spokesperson for No 10 stated that while they would not comment on foreign nations' military operations, the base is secure. They pointed to remarks made by US President Donald Trump last week, who had praised the UK's police, defence, and security services in connection with the base. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting was also cited as having previously stated that the UK possesses "tried and tested approaches to defend our bases around the country and throughout the world."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking on Monday, declined to directly link the recent incident to the bomber withdrawal. He characterized such movements of military assets as not unusual, citing exercises, redeployments, and personnel rotations. Rubio affirmed the US's continued confidence in the security of all its bases and acknowledged the cooperative efforts of British authorities since the incident.

RAF Fairford, located in the Cotswolds, is currently the focus of an investigation by counter-terror police. Initially, five men were arrested on suspicion of terror offences but were later released on bail. A sixth individual, a UK-Iranian national, also faced arrest and subsequent release on bail.

Whitehall sources have indicated that the decision by Washington to remove the bombers was indeed a response to the incident at the Gloucestershire airbase. The BBC has been informed that the decision was made at an operational level within the US military, rather than being a political directive, and was communicated to British military counterparts. This suggests a military rather than a political motivation behind the move.

The New York Times reported earlier on Monday that US commanders had received intelligence regarding new threats concerning an Iran-backed plot targeting RAF Fairford, according to two US officials. The newspaper detailed that this new information was part of existing threat warnings but that officials expedited their response after specific details emerged within the preceding 24 hours.

Ezra Cohen, a former defense official in the Trump administration, described the US decision as "prudent." He explained to BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the B-1 bombers are "very, very unique platforms that aren't being produced anymore, and we have a limited number of them." He emphasized that as "strategic assets," steps would be taken to protect them from all threats. The article notes that while precision strikes can be conducted directly from the US, the removal of bombers from RAF Fairford will impact the US's operational capabilities.