American refueling tankers were pulled from the Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Mildenhall in northern England on Monday, the Xinhua news agency reported. Two KC‑135R Stratotankers that were using the airfield were diverted to Germany earlier that morning, while several additional tankers were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day, according to the agency.
RAF Mildenhall hosts around 3,000 U.S. military personnel and is located roughly 80 miles north of London, the BBC stated. The evacuation follows the Pentagon’s decision last month to bring B‑1 bomber aircraft back to the United States from another British base, RAF Fairford, after safety concerns and the arrest of seven people suspected of preparing an act of terror.
Security incidents at RAF Fairford, including police evacuations of homes near the airfield on September 27 and the arrival of army bomb‑disposal experts, prompted the U.S. to proceed with the realignment of its forces in the UK, the Pentagon confirmed in October.
While Xinhua attributes the move to precautionary security measures, a CNN article – which cites a credible threat from Iran – claims the evacuation was a response to that threat. The CNN story was published nine hours ago, but the source link is currently unavailable.
An American official referred to by ABC News also said the U.S. Air Force had evacuated aircraft from a base in eastern England because of a threat, echoing the CNN account. The ABC source, however, does not provide further details on the nature of the threat.
Commercial flight‑tracking data, reportedly released by Reuters, showed at least ten U.S. refueling planes leaving the RAF Mildenhall base during the evacuation, although the original Reuters page could not be accessed for confirmation.
