One of the US’s most fearsome bombers has landed in the UK ahead of possible deployment to Iran, after the war secretary warned that strikes are ‘about to surge dramatically’.
The 146ft B-1 Lancer has a wingspan of 137ft, weighs 86 tonnes and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of more than 900mph with 24 cruise missiles on board.
Piloted by a crew of four, ‘the Bone’ has advanced radar and GPS systems to help hit targets, and electronic jammers, radar warnings and a decoy system to protect it from enemies.
The B‑1, which has been used in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Iraq, can carry up to 34 tonnes of weapons and equipment.
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The US Air Force says on its website: ‘Carrying the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force.
‘It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time.’
A bomber was pictured arriving at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire on Friday after Sir Keir Starmer granted the US permission to strike defensively against Iran’s missile facilities from British bases.
Western officials confirmed on Wednesday that US aircraft were expected at the base in the coming days and Britain was ready to accept them.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that strikes on Iran are ‘about to surge dramatically’.
He said: ‘It’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities. And it’s more bomber pulses more frequently.’
Protests are expected at RAF Fairford on Saturday afternoon to oppose any use of the base by US bombers.
In an update on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the US military campaign against Iran may take as long as four to six weeks.
President Donald Trump has previously suggested the conflict could take around five weeks before warning it could go ‘far longer’.
Hegseth has similarly insisted the US would ‘take all the time we need to make sure that we succeed’.
The president appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, saying in a social media post Friday that there will be no deal absent ‘unconditional surrender’.
‘After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,’ Trump said.
He has said multiple times that whoever takes over leadership of Iran must be to the US’s liking.
Trump signed off the social media post with ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN (MIGA!)’, a riff on his longtime campaign slogan, ‘Make America Great Again’.
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