US Air Force Evacuates Tankers in UK   11/10 06:11

   

   LONDON (AP) -- The U.S. Air Force has evacuated air refueling tankers from 
their base in eastern England due to a threat from Iran, the Wall Street 
Journal reported Tuesday.

   Two tankers stationed at RAF Mildenhall were diverted to Germany on Monday, 
and several other tankers were relocated to other bases in Europe later in the 
day, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the decision. U.S. 
officials decided to redeploy the aircraft after being alerted about the new 
threat on Monday, the Journal said.

   A European Command official said they were aware of the reporting when 
contacted by The Associated Press, saying only that the service rotates 
aircraft between locations "for a variety of reasons including training and 
real world requirements."

   "U.S. military aircraft are hosted in accordance with access, basing and 
overflight agreements with our allies and partners,'' the official said while 
speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on 
sensitive military matters. "Due to operations security, we will not provide 
further information on movement of assets.

   "For operational security reasons, we do not discuss specific force 
protection measures. Our installations remain vigilant and work closely with 
our host nation counterparts."

   RAF Mildenhall, a British base operated by the U.S. Air Force, hosts the 
100th refueling wing, the only permanent refueling wing in the European region. 
It operates the KC-135 Stratotanker, a four-engine jet aircraft with a wingspan 
of 131 feet that can carry up to 83,000 pounds of cargo.

   The report comes less than two months after the Air Force withdrew its 
bombers from another U.S.-run base in Britain, RAF Fairford, as police 
investigated a suspected terror plot linked to Iran. Bombers flying out of RAF 
Fairford had been used to strike Iran during the U.S.-Israeli war against the 
Islamic Republic.

   Five men were detained on Sept. 27 after three suspicious vans were spotted 
traveling toward RAF Fairford. The U.K.-owned base has been used by American 
bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East, including the ongoing 
Iran war.

   Other arrests followed and two men have been charged under the National 
Security Act.

   Britain's Ministry of Defense said it doesn't comment on the activity of 
other nations.

   "Aircraft and other assets move regularly according to operational 
requirements," the ministry said in a statement.