RAF Fairford security under scrutiny after arrests over suspected base attack

Perimeter security at UK military airfields is back in focus after a suspected attempt to attack RAF Fairford was stopped on 27 September.

The Gloucestershire base sits in countryside in the Cotswolds. It is run by the US Air Force and has hosted a detachment of strategic bombers this year as part of Washington's campaign against Iran. Several Boeing B-1B bombers are currently based there.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said it received a call at about 12:45am concerning three vehicles heading towards the base. Armed officers were sent and five men were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, according to the force.

Counter-terrorism work is ongoing. It is centred on three white vans left in Whelford, a village near the edge of the site.

Remarks by US President Donald Trump and UK defence secretary Wes Streeting indicate that authorities in both countries had some advance indication the base was a target. Neither gave further detail.

"We had them under investigation," Trump said after the arrests, adding that those involved were "looking to do big damage". Streeting said on 29 September that only a partial picture had been made public.

The suspected attack differs from one at Leipzig-Halle airport in Germany in early August, which does not appear to have involved drones. German authorities blamed Russia for that attempt on the airport's air cargo zone, saying two explosively armed drones were used.

The difficulty of protecting air bases has been highlighted before, including by Ukraine's Operation Spider Web drone attack on several Russian sites, and by Iran's strikes on Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan air base and other locations during the current conflict.