US Bomber Aircraft Arrive at British Base, Prepared to Attack Iran

Three United States (US) bomber aircraft landed at an English air base as the Pentagon prepares for an “escalation” of the latest attacks against Iran.

A B-1 Lancer bomber aircraft, according to Middle East Eye reporting on Monday 9 March 2026, landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, southern England, on Friday 6 March in the evening local time.

Two additional bomber aircraft landed at the same base on Saturday 7 March in the morning local time.

The air base in Gloucestershire is expected to receive more US military aircraft within the coming week.

The B-1 Lancer bomber costs up to US$2 billion (approximately IDR 33.9 trillion) per unit and can carry 24 cruise missiles simultaneously, enabling this type of aircraft to conduct long-range missions without detection.

According to the US Air Force, this type of bomber can “rapidly deliver a large quantity of precision and non-precision weapons against any enemy, anywhere in the world, at any time”.

Separately, a US C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft also arrived at the English base on Friday 6 March. The cargo aircraft is the largest in the US military fleet.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday 5 March that the United States would use English bases to “dramatically” increase its attacks on Iran.

“When we say there will be more, that means more fighter jet squadrons, more capability, more defensive capability, and more frequent bomber aircraft attacks,” he stated.

The use of English bases for US attacks on Iran comes after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was criticised by US President Donald Trump for being considered “unhelpful”. Starmer had initially blocked the US from using the joint British-US base on Diego Garcia, Chagos Islands for attacks on Iran.

On Sunday 8 March local time, Starmer said that the United States would be permitted to use English military bases for the purpose of targeting Iranian missile sites.