LONDON — Five men were arrested near RAF Fairford in southwestern England after police received reports of suspicious vehicles and a group of masked men close to the air base, prompting an overnight counter-terrorism operation and the evacuation of about 85 households in a nearby village.
US President Donald Trump said the suspects had been under surveillance and were planning to cause substantial damage at the installation, which is used by the US Air Force.
“We had them under investigation. They, they were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great,” Trump told reporters during a visit to Chicago on Sunday. He added: “We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.”
British authorities have so far provided fewer details about the suspected plot. Counter Terrorism Policing said it was leading the investigation into what it described as a major incident near RAF Fairford. The five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, while Gloucestershire police initially said several men had been detained over suspected offences under the Explosives Act.
The operation began after a report to emergency services about three suspicious vehicles apparently travelling towards the air base. A local resident told Britain’s PA news agency that she had seen three vans blocking a road and a large group of men wearing hoods and balaclavas.
Armed police were deployed and army bomb-disposal specialists examined three large white vans stopped on a rural road. A 400-metre cordon was established around the area, and residents of Whelford, a village near the base, were moved to a nearby leisure centre while security checks were carried out.
Police later said the incident had been contained. The scale of the response reflected the proximity of the vehicles and suspects to a military facility that hosts US personnel and aircraft.
RAF Fairford is home to the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing, an administrative support unit. The wing said no US Air Force personnel had been involved in the incident and thanked local law-enforcement agencies for their response.
“We remain in close coordination with our UK partners to help ensure the safety and security of both our military and local communities,” the unit said.
The investigation comes as Britain has heightened scrutiny of potential threats to military facilities and other strategic sites. British officials have previously raised concerns about hostile states using proxies or other covert networks to conduct operations in the country.
However, British Defence Minister Wes Streeting declined to speculate when asked whether Iran was involved in the Fairford incident. He said the government was working closely with its US counterparts and had been in contact with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The incident has particular sensitivity because of Fairford’s role in supporting US military operations. In March, then-prime minister Keir Starmer authorised the United States to use Fairford and another UK base for defensive operations against Iranian missile sites.
That arrangement has placed the base in a more prominent position amid tensions between Washington, London and Tehran. But British officials have not publicly attributed the Fairford incident to Iran, and the circumstances surrounding the arrests remain under investigation.
The arrests also come against a broader backdrop of concern in Britain about security around military installations. Reports earlier this month said British military sites had been targeted by drones more than 300 times over the previous year, although the Fairford investigation concerns a separate incident.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham was briefed on the operation while attending the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool. He thanked police, armed forces personnel and local residents who had been asked to leave their homes while precautionary checks were conducted.
For investigators, the central questions remain what the five men intended to do at or near the base, what role the three vehicles played and whether the incident was connected to any wider organisation or foreign actor. Authorities have not said that an attack took place or publicly established the motive behind the arrests.
The case remains at the investigation stage, with British counter-terrorism officers continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the activity near RAF Fairford.
