A major incident has been declared near RAF Fairford after several men were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act, with residents evacuated and an Army explosive ordnance disposal team examining a number of vehicles.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said a number of properties in the Whelford area were being evacuated following the declaration of the major incident.
“A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident.
“It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act.
“The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles.
“The local residents are being evacuated to a nearby leisure centre.
“A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained.
“We are working closely with our partners and are enacting the well-rehearsed plans we have in place.”
Images and local reporting from the area showed officers carrying out door-to-door evacuations around Horcott Road and nearby streets close to RAF Fairford.
RAF Fairford is a US Air Force-operated base in Gloucestershire used by the 501st Combat Support Wing and frequently supports deployments of American military aircraft to the UK. The incident comes against a background of heightened public interest in security at the base, although there is currently no official statement linking the arrests to RAF Fairford itself.
Separate social media reports published before the police announcement claimed force protection measures at Fairford had been increased, including claims that the base had moved to Force Protection Condition Delta.
A US Air Force spokesperson, responding to reporting about security at Fairford, said: “We are aware of the current reporting. For operational security reasons we will not discuss specific force protection measures.”
Force Protection Conditions are used by the US military to set security measures according to the assessed threat. Delta is the highest level and is normally associated with a terrorist attack having occurred or intelligence indicating an imminent threat at a specific location, but the US Air Force has not confirmed that Fairford is operating at that level.
UPDATE: from @Glos_Police regarding the RAF Fairford situation@MATA_osint https://t.co/njwpOiHRLl pic.twitter.com/uNd0BrUjiQ
— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) September 27, 2026
Police have so far described the arrests only as being on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act. The Army bomb disposal team remains involved in examining the vehicles while the cordon and evacuations continue.
Russia and Pootin our greatest threat says Streeting pity he has forgotten the enemy within!