The US military has withdrawn a number of aircraft from a second British airbase after reportedly receiving threats from Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported two US refuelling tankers stationed at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk were diverted to Germany on Monday morning, while several other tankers at the base were moved to Germany and other locations later in the day.
“US military aircraft are hosted in accordance with access, basing, and overflight agreements with our Allies and partners,” a US European Command official said on Tuesday. “Due to operations security, we will not provide further information on movement of assets.”
It comes just weeks after Washington removed its bombers from RAF Fairford airbase over a suspected Iran-linked security incident, raising questions over security at British bases. US officials are still discussing the precise nature of the threat to RAF Mildenhall, the WSJ reported.
Downing Street has insisted British air bases are safe and their security is a “top priority”.
Asked what contact had been made with the US about the safety of their planes, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As you know, the US is one of our top security partners.
“We’re in constant communication with them, sharing intelligence and accessing threats together. Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational requirements.”
The official added: “The protection of our bases, both in the UK and across the world, is a top priority.”
Below we look at where the US military has bases in the UK and Europe.
UK
There are roughly 12,300 US military and civilian defence personnel stationed in the UK at several defence sites, Lord Coaker, a minister of state in the Ministry of Defence, said in March.
The United States Visiting Forces (USVF) operate 11 RAF bases across the UK. All of these are in England, with no operational bases in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The US has had military forces permanently stationed in Britain at the invitation of the UK government since World War 2.
Its main two operating bases are RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, both of which are near Cambridge.
RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, serves as a forward operating base for the US Global Strike Command
The UK government website says that “any operational use of UK bases by US forces is subject to a joint decision by the UK and US governments” which includes the “use of UK bases for combat operations by US Air Force aircraft”.
The decision making process is not public, and requests by the US to use UK bases for overseas military action is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Here is a full list of the US-operated bases in the UK:
- RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk
- RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk
- RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire
- RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire
- RAF Alconbury, Cambridgeshire
- RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire
- RAF Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire
- RAF Feltwell, Norfolk
- RAF Welford, Berkshire
- RAF Blenheim Crescent, Ruislip, Greater London
- RAF Flyingdales, North Yorkshire
There are also several UK defence sites under joint command at which US military personnel are stationed, including Northwood Headquarters in Hertfordshire, GCHQ sites in Cheltenham and Bude, and the Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down facility in Wiltshire.
Europe
It is believed that the US operates between 30 and 35 major operational air bases, naval stations, and army garrisons across the remainder of Europe.
US forces have been stationed across Europe since World War 2, and reached a high of around 475,000 active-duty personnel during the late 1950s, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
This figure dropped into the tens of thousands after the Cold War ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The US had around 80,000 US service members in Europe as of April 2025, according to the US military EU Command, a decline from the 105,000 service members in the continent following Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Germany had by far the largest number of US troops in 2025, at 38,400.
It is reported that the US keeps roughly 100 nuclear weapons at Germany’s Buechel airbase, according to Deutsche Welle.
In May this year, the Pentagon announced plans to withdraw up to five thousand troops from Germany, reducing the US troop presence to pre-Ukraine war levels, following a disagreement between Donald Trump and German chancellor Friedrich Merz who said the US was being “humiliated” in the Iran war.
Italy has the second most, with nearly 13,000 personnel, while the UK is next in the list with more than 12,000 personnel, based on current UK figures.
Poland housed around 10,000 US troops as of 2025, the CSIS said, citing IISS figures. In September it was announced that US and Polish officials planned to set up a new American base for 10,000 troops in the country, bringing their forces closer to Russia’s doorstep.
Spain and Romania housed around 4,000 troops in 2025, while Turkey, Greece, Norway and Belgium all housed between 1,000 and 2,000.
But the latest withdrawals have once again thrown into question what Washington’s intentions are for its troops stationed in Europe - and numbers could be soon set to drop significantly.
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