Security Levels At U.S. Bases In England Raised Without Explanation

At least two U.S. Air Force bases in England are operating under beefed-up security protocols, a U.S. official told The War Zone on Monday afternoon. The official said enhanced force protection measures are in effect across RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall, but declined to discuss specifics for operational security reasons. The official did not say what spurred the measures, how long they have been in place, or whether they are connected to an ongoing investigation into whether Iran was behind a security incident at RAF Fairford in September.

The measures came to attention after unusual aircraft movements out of RAF Mildenhall were noticed by the open-source flight tracker account DefenceGeek on X. DefenceGeek reported that several KC-135 Stratotankers had moved to Spangdahlem or Prestwick, and that CV-22B Ospreys had moved from Mildenhall to Lakenheath. It remained unclear whether an exercise or information about a potential threat was behind the movements.

RAF Lakenheath posted a notice on Facebook urging vigilance in spotting and reporting drones, telling the community to report suspicious activity, including unauthorized drone activity, to Security Forces. It is unclear what connection, if any, that post has to the enhanced force protection status. U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa declined to discuss security measures, saying aircraft rotate between installations for training and real-world requirements and that it would not provide further information on movement of assets due to operations security.

RAF Mildenhall’s host unit is the 100th Air Refueling Wing, which operates KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling jets, and the base is also home to RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and MC-130J Commando II special operations cargo planes. RAF Lakenheath hosts F-15E Strike Eagle and F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

The departures from Mildenhall took place amid an ongoing flow of refueling tankers and other aircraft to the Middle East as President Donald Trump continued to weigh whether to resume strikes against Iran. Trump met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss a flagging diplomatic effort to resolve the conflict with Iran.

Security concerns about bases in England hosting U.S. forces were raised following an incident at RAF Fairford in late September, when five men were arrested on suspicion of driving bomb-laden vans toward the base. They were released on bail after no explosives were found, but two men were later arrested, one of whom was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service that police believed to be Iran, according to the BBC. A week after the incident, B-1B Lancer bombers deployed to RAF Fairford returned to their home stations, reportedly sparked by new Iranian threats against the base. Tehran had directly threatened RAF Fairford in July over its use as a base to launch attacks against Iran.