Situated in Gloucestershire, RAF Fairford is a strategically important airbase that has served as a forward operating base for the US Air Force since the Cold War.
On 27 September, British police arrested five men on suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences near the airbase, which the US had recently used to conduct defensive strikes against Iranian military capabilities.
The incident has thrust RAF Fairford into the global spotlight. But what is the decades-long history behind the airbase? Why is it strategically important, and how is it defended?
Slice of America in heart of UK
Nestled in the eastern part of the Cotswolds, near the Wiltshire border, RAF Fairford was built in 1944 to support troop carriers and assault gliders for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
In 1950, as the Cold War intensified, the airfield was transferred to the US Air Forces for strategic bomber operations, and a 3,000-metre runway was constructed to accommodate the large aircraft that would arrive in the following years.
At nearly two miles long, it was once even the designated emergency landing site for the NASA Space Shuttle.
In 1986, the airbase came to prominence when it was used as a staging post for American air-to-air refuelling tankers during the US attack on Libya under the Gaddafi regime.
It also supported Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Allied Force – the Nato air campaign over Kosovo – in 1999, and four years later, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Last year, the US deployed two B-52 Stratofortress bombers from their home in Louisiana to RAF Fairford as part of Exercise Cobra Warrior.
The British base acts as the headquarters for the US 501st Combat Support Wing and the 420th Air Base Squadron.
While security and policing of its outer perimeter and local area are handled by UK police and Armed Forces, the US military coordinates closely on base security and force protection.
Long runway a key asset
The airbase is also one of only two bases in Europe that can host all three of the US Air Force's long-range bombers – the B-1 Lancer, the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress.
U-2 spy planes also regularly fly in and out of the base on training missions.
While the station was made available to the US as a forward operating base, it is owned by the MOD and therefore retains its RAF title.
A 1951 agreement between Washington and London means the British Government has the final say over its use for combat operations.
Defensive strikes on Iran
Following the US-Israeli strikes against Iran on 28 February, then Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gave the go-ahead for the US to use UK bases – including RAF Fairford – for "defensive" strikes on Iranian capabilities.
In one such strike, US B-2s flew a 37-hour round trip from Missouri – but using Fairford would halve the time those bombers need to spend in the air and cut fuel costs.
In July, Iran's Revolutionary Guards had warned Britain not to allow US bombers to fly from Fairford, saying any base used to launch attacks would be a legitimate target.
Foiled bomb plot
In the early hours of 27 September, following a tip-off that three vans had been seen heading towards the military airfield, five men were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences.
Counter-terrorism police are now investigating whether Iran could be linked to the suspected bomb plot.
Speaking at a Labour Party conference, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he can't provide much further detail than that already reported – but spoke about the strength of the UK-US alliance.
"Our friendship with America is the closest alliance of any two nations on Earth, and we will always stand together against those who hate our freedom and those who wish us harm," he said.
He added that the reaction from security services, Armed Forces and the police "was just a small glimpse of the extraordinary work they do every day".
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the foiled plot was "a reminder of the threats our country faces".
The UK must be prepared to "confront" all the security threats facing Europe and the world, Mr Miliband said, adding: "We will act against the proxies of Iran."
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