David DeRosh, a professor at the Thayer Marshall Institute, said the Pentagon's decision to remove B-1 bombers from RAF Fairford in the UK was "long overdue." The base is at the center of a suspected security incident: five men were arrested nearby on suspicion of plotting an attack. DeRosh, a former Pentagon official, said the arrests "exposed a vulnerability" because the aircraft are "parked in the open," only about 300 yards (275 meters) from where they are visible to the public. Therefore, they are very vulnerable to drone attacks or other types of mortar attacks. DeRosh said the U.S. Air Force "has been very slow to learn" and has not learned from the 2025 Ukrainian drone attacks on a fleet of Russian strategic bombers. At that time, Kyiv claimed to have destroyed about 40 Russian military aircraft. We need to provide these aircraft with top cover and some kind of protection, even a small drone, or any drone carrying explosives, can cause serious damage. We have already seen drones get very close. DeRosh acknowledged that deploying U.S. bombers would mean "losing some combat capability," but given the threats Fairford saw, top cover should have been provided to all aircraft globally years ago.
