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27 Sep 2026 - British counterterrorism op near RAF Fairford

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brihard

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British Counterterrorism police have just done some sort of major takedown right outside RAF Fairford, an Air Force base hosting U.S. strategic bombers.

Not much info yet, but several arrests have been made and the village of Whelford at the east end of the base runway has been evacuated. Looks like EOD may be working a couple of vans. A police presser has been delayed.

At first glance an obvious potential theory is targeting of USAF personnel and/or assets at the base, which would presumably point back to Iran. That’s pure speculation though.

Yesterday it was separately reported that Fairford had been moved to Force Protection Condition Delta, their highest posture against imminent acts of terrorism. Some other bases hosting the U.S. went to FPCON Charlie, also very unusual.

No doubt more to follow.

EDIT TO ADD: I was able to find the exact location of the vans from the helicopter footage on BBC: Google Maps

www.bbc.com

RAF Fairford suspects to be released on bail, head of counter-terror police says

Laurence Taylor says the five men arrested on Sunday are still under investigation as police consider multiple lines of inquiry, including the possible involvement of a foreign state.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Last edited:
Police presser: delivered by local Gloucestershire police (cough- bullshit).
  • ‘Three suspicious vehicles’ were heading towards the base at 0045 in the morning.
  • Just so happened that overnight on this Sunday morning Gloucestershire Police had suitable trained and equipped armed officers ready to go. I don’t for a moment imagine they were from Hereford.
  • Army EOD working three vans in the village of Whelford. 400m cordon established.
  • Five men in custody.
News just reported that the five men have been ‘further arrested’ on suspicion of ‘preparation of a terrorist act’. No names yet.

News also just said this is claimed to have not been intelligence led. The talking head on the news is more than a bit skeptical.

BBC is already talking about the potential of state sponsorship.
 
brihard said:
Police presser: delivered by local Gloucestershire police (cough- bullshit).
  • ‘Three suspicious vehicles’ were heading towards the base at 0045 in the morning.
  • Just so happened that overnight on this Sunday morning Gloucestershire Police had suitable trained and equipped armed officers ready to go. I don’t for a moment imagine they were from Hereford.
  • Army EOD working three vans in the village of Whelford. 400m cordon established.
  • Five men in custody.
News just reported that the five men have been ‘further arrested’ on suspicion of ‘preparation of a terrorist act’. No names yet.

News also just said this is claimed to have not been intelligence led. The talking head on the news is more than a bit skeptical.

BBC is already talking about the potential of state sponsorship.
Click to expand...

That's the bullshit part - at 12:45am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, they just happened to have sufficient armed police stationed at the right spot, at the right time.......
 
Czech_pivo said:
That's the bullshit part - at 12:45am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning, they just happened to have sufficient armed police stationed at the right spot, at the right time.......
Click to expand...
Clearly this was intelligence led and probably building for at least days but more likely weeks. I’d love to know how the takedown went.
 
How the takedown went?
To use the current buzzword Dynamically.
With a lot of light and noise measured in milliseconds I would imagine.
 
brihard said:
British Counterterrorism police have just done some sort of major takedown right outside RAF Fairford, an Air Force base hosting U.S. strategic bombers.

Not much info yet, but several arrests have been made and the village of Whelford at the east end of the base runway has been evacuated. Looks like EOD may be working a couple of vans. A police presser has been delayed.

At first glance an obvious potential theory is targeting of USAF personnel and/or assets at the base, which would presumably point back to Iran. That’s pure speculation though.

Yesterday it was separately reported that Fairford had been moved to Force Protection Condition Delta, their highest posture against imminent acts of terrorism. Some other bases hosting the U.S. went to FPCON Charlie, also very unusual.

No doubt more to follow.

EDIT TO ADD: I was able to find the exact location of the vans from the helicopter footage on BBC: Google Maps

www.bbc.com

RAF Fairford suspects to be released on bail, head of counter-terror police says

Laurence Taylor says the five men arrested on Sunday are still under investigation as police consider multiple lines of inquiry, including the possible involvement of a foreign state.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...

BGS! (Bloody good show).

Happens more often than hits the papers, believe it or not...

Meanwhile, on brand:

Julian Tudsbury, a resident of Whelford, said three “suspicious vans” had been spotted in the village and reported to police in the early hours of Sunday morning. “Evidently, they phoned the airbase police, who didn’t answer the phone,” he said of the person who reported the sighting. “It just rang out so she dialled 999.”

www.theguardian.com

Five arrested for alleged terrorism offences after ‘major incident’ near RAF Fairford

Men held also suspected of explosives offences as homes evacuated near British airbase used in US attacks on Iran
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
daftandbarmy said:
Julian Tudsbury, a resident of Whelford, said three “suspicious vans” had been spotted in the village and reported to police in the early hours of Sunday morning. “Evidently, they phoned the airbase police, who didn’t answer the phone,” he said of the person who reported the sighting. “It just rang out so she dialled 999.”
Click to expand...

Why on earth would the RCAF Police have even a passing interest in three suspicious vans near the base perimeter???
 
Trump appears to have confirmed this has been under investigation for a while per comments to reporters:

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c65y7nl29k0et said:
US President Donald Trump tells reporters that the men arrested near RAF Fairford on Sunday were "looking to do big damage".

"We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort, and working with the British worked out great," he says.

"It may have been Scotland Yard, I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them.

"It was fantastic. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job."
Click to expand...
 
brihard said:
Trump appears to have confirmed this has been under investigation for a while per comments to reporters:
Click to expand...

Which contradicts this comment:

"The operation was not intelligence-led, suggesting that investigators had not known about any potential plot in advance."

www.theguardian.com

Five arrested for alleged terrorism offences after ‘major incident’ near RAF Fairford

Men held also suspected of explosives offences as homes evacuated near British airbase used in US attacks on Iran
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
daftandbarmy said:
Which contradicts this comment:

"The operation was not intelligence-led, suggesting that investigators had not known about any potential plot in advance."

www.theguardian.com

Five arrested for alleged terrorism offences after ‘major incident’ near RAF Fairford

Men held also suspected of explosives offences as homes evacuated near British airbase used in US attacks on Iran
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
Click to expand...
That comment is patently nonsense. Increases in base security have been noted for weeks and yesterday Fairford went to the highest level of force protection. They had everything in place for a takedown at oh dark FML on a Sunday morning. The police spokesperson should demur instead of clearly lying.

Maybe Gloucestershire Police were brought into the detailed loop late in the game, though they’d certainly be generally aware of increased risk to Fairford. But obviously this was known and being investigated.
 
brihard said:
That comment is patently nonsense. Increases in base security have been noted for weeks and yesterday Fairford went to the highest level of force protection. They had everything in place for a takedown at oh dark FML on a Sunday morning. The police spokesperson should demur instead of clearly lying.
Click to expand...

No, no, no... you are missing the point:

As ever, it is the patriotic vigilance of the typical British middle class (snoopy) householder, in a small rural village, that keeps us all safe at night.

We all do our part, you know.

Get with the Battle-of-Britain-like narrative buddy ;)
 
In the fullness of time it’ll be fascinating to learn how this was initially detected (we likely won’t get much there) and how the investigation unfolded.

I wonder if the increased security measures reported yesterday triggered an attempt by the suspects to go while they still could or if the specific imminence of the attack was known?
 
Tough to know how credible this is, but the Telegraph is quoting a local who claims to have been driving home, come upon the three vans parked blocking the road, and saw several men, some with masks or balaclavas, scattering. She then called police.

From the start of this morning’s reporting I’ve been perplexed at how neatly the vans are parked, fanned out blocking the road. A high risk takedown would likely not look like that. If in fact they were detected just after they’d dismounted, maybe there’s more credibility to both claims by authorities - that this has in fact been actively investigated for some time, but also that a call from a civilian tipped off the immediate takedown as an emergency response. That would also be consistent with the reported force protection measures.

if in fact this is true, it raises serious questions about just how near a miss this was. And what will we learn the suspects had- drones? Firearms?

 
Fake livery for the vans - a business called "Fuel 2 You" which may also have folks not bat an eye on them transporting jerrycans - whether gasoline or diesel for ANFO.
 
daftandbarmy said:
Julian Tudsbury, a resident of Whelford, said three “suspicious vans” had been spotted in the village and reported to police in the early hours of Sunday morning. “Evidently, they phoned the airbase police, who didn’t answer the phone,” he said of the person who reported the sighting. “It just rang out so she dialled 999.”
Click to expand...
So why, if they were on high alert, did base security not answer the telephone? Was it because they were already watching.

The business with the Donald is actually sad. First thought was he is simply taking credit when he knew absolutely nothing about it. If that isn't true then it clearly defines how far the presidency has fallen in people's estimation because at the end of it all it is the country, not the leader that is being discredited. Tragic
 
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