Police said they received a report shortly after midnight on Sunday, September 27, 2026, about three vehicles that appeared to be travelling toward the Gloucestershire airbase. Gloucestershire Constabulary said the call came at about 00:45 BST. Armed officers responded in the Whelford area, a village about two miles southeast of the base, and arrested five men. The men were first detained on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.

They were later further arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act, contrary to Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Counter Terrorism Policing has taken the lead. Officials have said the immediate incident appeared contained and that they were not seeking other suspects at the scene. On Monday, Counter Terrorism Policing confirmed that all five men are British nationals living in London and in their early 20s.

Police identified them only by age and borough of residence: a 24-year-old from Camden; a 24-year-old, a 25-year-old and a 23-year-old from Westminster; and a 24-year-old from Willesden. They have not been named. Officers said they were being held under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act and that a custody extension had been secured until later Monday. No charges had been announced by Monday afternoon.

Police have officially confirmed that three vehicles were reported near the base and that the Army’s explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to examine vehicles at the scene. A 400-metre cordon was established around the location. About 85 households in Whelford were evacuated as a precaution, with residents directed to a nearby leisure centre. Overnight accommodation was arranged for people who could not stay with family or friends.

Police said a significant emergency presence, including military assets, would remain for some time and that the cordon would be reviewed later Monday. News organisations reported additional visual details that police have not independently confirmed in official statements. Aerial footage showed three white vans, two with rear doors open, and a remotely operated robot moving among the vehicles. Some reports described large dark barrels or cylindrical containers near the vans.

Police have not publicly confirmed what, if anything, was found inside or around the vehicles, whether any suspected explosive material was viable, or what the examination concluded. Investigators said overnight work at the scene had produced “multiple new lines of enquiry,” but they have not released findings. RAF Fairford is a British Royal Air Force station in the Cotswolds that has long hosted U.S. Air Force operations.

It is home to the U.S. Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing and serves as a forward operating location for heavy bombers. The United States has used the base in previous conflicts, including the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq war. In 2026, after the British government authorised what it described as defensive U.S. operations against Iranian missile capabilities and launch sites linked to attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, American B-1 Lancers and, for a period, B-52s operated from Fairford.

The base has remained a hub for U.S. long-range aircraft during the conflict involving Iran. That role has made Fairford politically and militarily sensitive. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps previously warned that bases used for attacks on Iranian territory would be treated as legitimate targets. British officials have not publicly tied the Sunday arrests to that threat.

Reports have said investigators are examining whether there could be an Iran connection, among other possibilities. A source familiar with the inquiry told Reuters that an Iranian-linked motive was considered the most likely option being assessed, while other theories were also being examined. Those reports are not official findings.

Counter Terrorism Policing Senior National Coordinator Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said she was “very aware of the levels of speculation about the motivation behind this incident, and the geopolitical questions that are being raised,” and asked that investigators be given space to work. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting declined to speculate about Iranian involvement and said he was not drawing that connection, while adding that Britain knows Iran and its proxies “wish to do us harm.”

The Iranian embassy in London issued a statement rejecting speculation linking Iran to the arrests. Authorities have not established or publicly confirmed that Iran directed the alleged activity. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly praised the arrests.

He told reporters the operation was “fantastic” and “an amazing job,” and said U.S. and British authorities had been working together. Trump said the suspects “were looking to do big damage to our fort,” that they had been “under investigation,” and that “we had them under view for a long time, and we got them.” Those statements are Trump’s claims. British police have described the overnight response as following a public report about suspicious vehicles.

Multiple news organisations have reported that the operation was not intelligence-led, meaning investigators had not publicly indicated they were already moving on a known plot when the vehicles were stopped. UK authorities have not confirmed Trump’s account of prior surveillance. A local resident later said she called police after seeing three white vans and a group of hooded and masked men near the base in the early hours. She described the encounter as a matter of chance.

Officials thanked the public for vigilance but said any single witness had only a partial picture of the wider operation. Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the incident “deeply concerning” and said the government would take every step necessary to protect the public. Evans described the inquiry as a “hugely complex and large-scale operation” involving local and national policing, the Ministry of Defence, and local agencies. Police said they were working to establish the circumstances of the arrested men’s activity, their knowledge, and any motivation.

As of Monday, those questions remained unanswered in public. The five men remained in custody. The cordon around the vehicles stayed in place. Investigators had not announced discoveries inside the vans, the viability of any suspected explosives, additional searches beyond the scene work already described, or a charging decision.