US bombers have landed at a RAF base today as Donald Trump showcases his military might after Sir Keir Starmer approved ‘defensive’ action against Iranian missiles.
Three B-52 bombers touched down at RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, after the US President warned Tehran ‘the big one’ was coming.
The American flag was seen draped in the cockpit of a B-52 Stratofortress nicknamed the ‘Iron Butterly’ as it landed on the runway.
The aircraft was used during ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’ in 2003 when the US and coalition forces bombarded Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad palace.
Onlookers stood at the perimeter fence as the Cold War-era aircraft capable of firing nuclear missiles arrived on the tarmac.
A ‘Bomber Barons’ motif was emblazoned on one of the B-52s – the nickname of the US Air Force’s 23rd Bomb Squadron.
The B-52s joined a growing fleet at the RAF base after B-1s arrived over the weekend.
The strategic bombers, costing up to $2billion each, can carry out long-range missions without detection while carrying the world’s most devastating missiles.
US bombers have landed at a RAF base today as Donald Trump showcases his military might after Sir Keir Starmer approved ‘defensive’ action against Iranian missiles
Three B-52 bombers touched down at RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, after the US President warned Tehran ‘the big one’ was coming
Meanwhile, a C-5 Super Galaxy cargo plane was pictured at the base Friday night.
The biggest plane in the US armory, its cargo bay can carry two M1 Abrams main battle tanks, six Apache helicopter gunships or up to 36 military vehicles.
It flew into Gloucestershire from Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas on Friday ahead of the first B1-bomber to land from the 7 Bomb Wing that is based there.
It is believed there are currently eight B-1s and three B-52s stationed at RAF Fairford.
The US President warned Iran last week that ‘the big one’ was coming, adding: ‘We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave has not even happened.’
And US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that America will now use British RAF bases to ‘dramatically’ up its strikes on Iran after the Prime Minister allowed the Americans to launch defensive strikes from UK-US bases.
‘When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently,’ Mr Hegseth said.
The 146ft B-1 Lancer has a wingspan of 137ft, weighs 86 tonnes and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of more than 900mph.
Piloted by a crew of four, ‘the Bone’ – as the aircraft is nicknamed – has advanced radar and GPS systems to help hit targets, and electronic jammers, radar warnings and a decoy system to protect it from enemies.
The B-1, which has been used in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, can carry up to 34 tonnes of weapons and equipment.
The US Air Force says on its website: ‘Carrying the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force.
‘It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time.’
The American flag was seen draped in the cockpit of a B-52 Stratofortress nicknamed the ‘Iron Butterly’ as it landed on the runway
Onlookers stood at the perimeter fence as the Cold War-era aircraft capable of firing nuclear missiles arrived on the tarmac
A ‘Bomber Barons’ motif was emblazoned on one of the B-52s – the nickname of the US Air Force’s 23rd Bomb Squadron
B-1 bombers, which are based at Dyess in Texas, can carry out long-range missions without detection while carrying the world’s most devastating missiles.
They are the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force and according to the US Air Force can ‘rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time’.
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‘The B-1 is a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system,’ the force’s website boasts.
‘The B-1B’s synthetic aperture radar is capable of tracking, targeting and engaging moving vehicles as well as self-targeting and terrain-following modes.’
In a further sign of air activity hotting up around Fairford, a temporary Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) has been put in place today.
The move, which requires aircraft to switch their transponders on in that area for better safety by making them easier for air traffic control to spot, came into force at 3pm for the next month – indicating that the base will be busier than normal for at least the next few weeks.
Sir Keir spoke to Trump over the weekend about the countries’ military co-operation in the region, in what appeared to be a positive signal a day after the US President lashed out at him in a social media post and suggested the UK’s help was too late.
Trump has repeatedly hit out at the premier’s decision not to grant permission for the first wave of military action against Iran.
Sir Keir later granted permission for ‘defensive’ US action against Iranian missile sites from UK bases.
After reports the UK was preparing the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier to go to the Middle East, Mr Trump said ‘we don’t need them any longer’ and that ‘we don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won!’
No decisions have yet been taken to deploy the warship.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has urged the Prime Minister to call off the King’s state visit to the US over Mr Trump’s ‘illegal war’ and as the US leader ‘repeatedly insults and damages our country’.
Sir Keir said the US and the UK ‘are working together every single day, as they always have’ despite the public attacks on him by Mr Trump.
The 146ft B-1 Lancer has a wingspan of 137ft, weighs 86 tonnes and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of more than 900mph
A US B-1 aircraft was pictured arriving at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday evening, where it is expected to be joined by more stealth bombers, including B-2s and B-52s
An armed airman of the US Air force guards the perimeter fence at RAF Fairford after a B1 Lancer bomber landed over the weekend
‘I had a telephone call with President Trump yesterday talking about the conflict in Iran and the region and what we were doing together, and that was important in terms of the ongoing discussion,’ he said.
But he added that ‘decisions about what’s in Britain’s best interests are decisions for the Prime Minister of Britain, and that’s how I’ve approached all of the questions and all the decisions that I’ve had to make’.
Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she would be bringing a vote in Parliament on Tuesday aimed at keeping fuel duty ‘as low as possible’ after the Chancellor announced the long-held 5p cut would end in September.
‘That’s the kind of measure that will actually help people with the cost of living,’ she told the Press Association.
‘The first thing that the Prime Minister should do is stop Rachel Reeves’s silly changes to fuel duty.
‘Last week, she had an opportunity in the spring statement to announce measures to help all of those families out there who are struggling with the cost of living.
‘Instead, she spent the statement telling us what a fabulous job she was doing.’
