Analyzing the strategic importance of U.S. Air Force bases in the United Kingdom.
Since 1942 the United States has maintained a continuous presence in the UK – with the US Air Force currently having 13 bases on British soil.
Several drones were recently spotted over some of these airbases.
This has led to British troops, believed to be from the RAF Regiment, being drafted in to help the USAF find out who was responsible for flying drones over the bases.
Since the Second World War there had been approximately 100 US bases in the UK.
The remaining 13 bases are RAF Lakenheath, RAF Croughton, RAF Welford, RAF Fairford, RAF Feltwell, RAF Upwood, RAF Barford St John, RAF Blenheim Crescent, RAF Fylingdales, RAF Menwith Hill, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth.
The drones were spotted flying over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk as well as RAF Feltwell in Norfolk.
A US official said despite the initial analysis, it was too early to say who might be responsible.
There have also been reports that RAF Fairford is also affected.
RAF Lakenheath
Some of these USAF bases, such as RAF Lakenheath, act as airfields for US fighter planes.
Lakenheath is home to F-35A Lightning IIs and F-15E Strike Eagles.
It is the USAF in Europe’s only fourth and fifth-generation fighter wing, which it said brings “unique air combat capabilities to the fight, such as the most advanced Joint Direct Attack Munitions used by the F-35A & F-15E”.
The base provides all-weather, day or night air superiority and air-to-ground precision combat capability and multi-staged improvement programme avionics.
RAF Mildenhall
Mildenhall is home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refueling Wing.
The wing provides the critical air refuelling “bridge” that allows the Expeditionary Air Force to deploy around the globe at a moment’s notice.
The base has units from four different major commands – Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Mobility Command and USAF in Europe.
The units at RAF Mildenhall have a wide variety of missions occurring simultaneously.
Their aim is to provide a “ready force and Strategic Forward Base, projecting airpower through unrivaled air refuelling across Europe and Africa”.
RAF Feltwell
Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and also acts as a hub for housing, schools and other services.
The airfield is used as a housing estate for USAF personnel stationed nearby at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath.
RAF Feltwell also houses the only Middle School for Lakenheath and Mildenhall, which covers most of the station.
RAF Fairford
Fairford has been used by the USAF nearly continuously since it was first built for D-Day operations in 1944.
It is home to the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron and serves as the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for USAF Global Strike Command.
The 420th Air Base Squadron provides mission support to receive, bed down and sustain deployed forces to enable US and Nato warfighters to conduct a full spectrum of flying operations.
The US base has one of the longest flightlines in the UK and supports a variety of missions and exercises throughout the year.
#USAF #UKDefense #MilitaryStrategy
