The New York Times reports that the United States evacuated all 12 B-1 Lancer strategic bombers from RAF Fairford in southern England over the weekend, following intelligence about a multi-stage drone attack planned by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to U.S. and British officials cited by the Times, the plan aimed to hit American aircraft and kill personnel stationed at the base. Some officials assessed the operation partially drew inspiration from Ukraine's bold cross-border attack inside Russian territory last year.
The New York Times on Tuesday detailed the specific threat that prompted the U.S. military's weekend decision to evacuate its entire fleet of a dozen B-1 Lancer strategic bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. The newspaper, citing U.S. and British officials, reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had developed a sophisticated multi-stage drone attack plan. The target: the American bombers and the hundreds of U.S. troops stationed at the base.
The plan, described as complex and multi-phased, reportedly sought to destroy the aircraft and kill personnel. Some Western officials told the Times they believed the IRGC had partially drawn inspiration from Ukraine's audacious cross-border incursion into Russian territory in 2024, which involved drone strikes deep inside Russia. The intelligence prompted a sudden withdrawal of all 12 bombers back to bases in the United States over the weekend.
The Zioneer first reported the evacuation on October 4, citing Axios. That report confirmed the Pentagon had characterized the move as a strategic repositioning. In the months prior, The Zioneer covered a series of security incidents at RAF Fairford, including the foiling of an Iran-linked bomb plot near the base in late September, which led to the arrest of five British men and the evacuation of 85 homes. British counterterrorism investigators described a "strong Iranian fingerprint" in that plot.
This bulletin was compiled from a single source, the New York Times report, as circulated by a curated the source. The full details of the alleged IRGC plan and the intelligence that triggered the evacuation have not been independently confirmed.
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