Now the US wants to fly its drones out of the UK – despite widespread outrage

Protestors led by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and Drone Wars will gather outside the main gates of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire at 1pm on Saturday 25 January to oppose plans to fly US Global Hawk drones from the base. The protest comes as the newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump once again repeated his plan to ‘Make America Great’ articulating a ‘peace through strength’ foreign policy.

US drones in the UK: WTF?

The US plan to operate the huge RQ-4 Global Hawk drones from RAF Fairford as part of NATO’s ‘Agile Combat Employment’ (ACE) concept which argues that key military aircraft should be able to operate from different bases in order to make it harder for adversaries to conduct pre-emptive strikes.

As the Telegraph reported, “introducing the long-range RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones to the Gloucestershire base means severing a vital flight path used by airlines serving the West Midlands airport several times a week”:

Now airport managers have written to the CAA warning that flights could be extended by hundreds of extra miles and delayed by up to 20 minutes while the Global Hawks are flying to and from Fairford.

According to documents submitted to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the “working assumption” is that when the drones are at the base they will fly 2-3 times per week. However, a trial flight of the giant drone into the base in August 2024 seriously disrupted UK passenger flights arriving into Birmingham airport.

No, no, no

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt said:

The Global Hawk is part of the US spying apparatus and has been for decades, from the devastating invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan to supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Whether it’s US nuclear weapons stationed at RAF Lakenheath or drone flights from RAF Fairford, these British bases are critical hubs for the US war-fighting machine. With Donald Trump back in power this is even more alarming. Instead of hiding behind bogus arguments of national security, the British government should be held accountable for the war crimes being perpetrated from these bases.

Director of Drone Wars Chris Cole said:

While in theory the UK has to give approval for any military operations carried out from its territory, given that the UK government is so determined to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Washington, there must be serious questions as to whether the Government would ever refuse permission for flights, no matter what the purpose of the operation. Allowing US drones to fly from Fairford is effectively handing Washington a blank cheque for its drone operations and must be challenged.

Featured image via the Canary