For a village in the crosshairs of a terrorist threat arising from Donald Trump’s war with Iran, Lakenheath’s inhabitants were unperturbed this week.
This west Suffolk community sits cheek by jowl with RAF Lakenheath, the airbase home to some 7,000 American military personnel and state-of-the-art weaponry including F-35 fighter jets. It is also widely thought to host tactical nuclear weapons.
So when the Pentagon this weekend evacuated more than a dozen aircraft, including air-to-air refuelling tankers, from the nearby RAF Mildenhall base – a 10-minute drive away – and increased the security status of both installations to its second highest level, residents may have been forgiven for feeling a sense of alarm.
US intelligence sources let it be known that the reason for the alert was the existence of a renewed “credible threat” of terrorist activity against American airbases in the UK in the wake of an alleged plot by Iranian operatives in September to target another US installation, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
At the same time, US Air Force commanders at Lakenheath on Monday issued a Facebook plea for locals to keep their eyes peeled for suspicious drone activity and to “attempt to locate and identify operators” found lurking in the Suffolk countryside.
“Our strongest security asset is an observant community,” the post added.
‘Can’t affect what Trump does’
RAF Lakenheath is home to the USAF’s 48th Fighter Wing, which has been actively involved in the Iran war. F-15 and F-35 jets from the Suffolk base have been deployed to US installations in the Middle East to carry out missions over Iran.
In a clear display of defensive force, two hefty US military armoured vehicles were posted by the main entrance to RAF Lakenheath amid intensified searches and security checks.
But when The i Paper this week visited Lakenheath, residents were less bothered by the prospect of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps operatives crawling through the undergrowth – and more by the problem of keeping the lights on at their new primary school
The £12m school, which opened in September, has yet to be connected to the mains power supply due to development delays. Pupils were told not to attend on Monday after the school’s existing generator failed over the weekend.
Gerald Kelly, vice-chairman of the parish council, noted that Lakenheath’s proximity to the levers of America’s global military might did not translate into a preoccupation with its ramifications on the village’s quiet high street and beyond.
“It’s not that we are unconcerned about what happens at the base – it’s an important part of the economy and the locality.
“But I think people feel that we should use our energy to worry about the things we can change and influence. We can’t really affect what Mr Trump gets up to. But we can take action over whether or not the school is open.”
As if to underline the village’s “keep calm and carry on” sangfroid, the only evidence of a public alert on its streets was not the drone awareness flyer provided by the airbase. Instead, a “wanted” poster appealed for information on an unidentified dog owner allowing their pet to foul the church graveyard.
A quiet village whose military heritage is worn with pride
That is not to say that global events and their impact on their neighbourhood leave Lakenheath’s residents unmoved.
As the two-minute silence for Armistice Day took place on Wednesday, a number of villagers – several of them emblazoned with medals from their own military service – gathered to pay their respects to the fallen by Lakenheath’s war memorial carved with the names of locals killed in the First World War.
Indeed, Lakenheath wears its military heritage with considerable pride – the village sign includes the outline of Second World War RAF Stirling bomber of the kind which flew from the then British-controlled airstrip.
Leading the remembrance ceremony was Ken Blackwell, 84, a British Army veteran of 22 years and a Lakenheath resident for more than four decades. The juxtaposition of the previous conflicts the village has seen with the current global instability was not lost on him.
“We’ve had an airbase here since 1933, so we’re pretty used to goings-on. But I am concerned about what’s coming next,” he said.
“Nato has got itself a problem with Trump and his foreign policy. There are lots of reasons why we should remember wars, but the problem is that lots of people don’t want to remember.”
US airbases ‘worth £675m’ to Suffolk economy
It is, at the same time, hard to escape the presence and influence of the US airbase. Its runway is nearly 3,000 metres long and the installation has a surface area of some three square miles.
According to West Suffolk District Council’s estimates, RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall contribute a combined £675m a year to the economy. Between them, the two bases employ just under 3,000 UK nationals and house some 22,000 American personnel and their families.
Residents underlined their recognition of the importance of the base to its surrounding area.
As Matt Moles, a sales executive at Military Auto Source, a company selling tax-free American-specification cars to US personnel and has an office outside RAF Lakenheath, said: “If the base wasn’t here, a lot of the businesses in this area would suffer. It would actually be tumbleweeds.”
But there are also grumbles.
Several villagers complained of the “teeth-rattling” noise generated by the takeoffs of F-35s, so-called fifth generation fighters with advanced stealth technology. One homeowner said: “They might be stealthy once they’re in the air but you can’t hear yourself think when they reach the end of the runway. Everything in my house rattles.”
Others commented on a “sternness” to the American presence in recent years, feeling that the heightened security on the base had lessened the frequency of community outreach events and other informal interactions with the base.
The US Air Force was approached for comment.
The question remains of just how exposed RAF Lakenheath and other US bases in Britain are to the sorts of terror plots which Washington this week suggested had been detected.
One western security source told The i Paper that the scenarios being considered by the Pentagon and allies hosting US bases included a vehicle ramming attack and the use of explosive drones to damage aircraft parked on airbase aprons.
Concern about the latter type of attack has increased after a drone containing a military-grade explosive was discovered next to a Ukrainian transport plane at Leipzig airport in August. The German authorities blamed the incident on Moscow.
Defence minister Luke Pollard insisted on Friday that UK airbases, whether operated by British personnel or US forces, were safe but acknowledged that drone attacks were considered a major threat. Pollard told the Government was investing £750m in counter-drone technology, adding: “The threats that our bases are facing… are more complex threats. We can see more drone activity around our bases and that’s why we are investing.”
Alarm that the large tanker aircraft stationed at RAF Mildenhall could be vulnerable to a similar attack by Iran has been suggested as a reason for this week’s apparent emergency evacuation. Similarly, the availability of hardened aircraft shelters at RAF Lakenheath may be one of the reasons why no aircraft were removed from the base.
Yet there are doubts in some quarters that Iran has the resources to make good on some of these threats – such as the capability to smuggle military-grade explosives and skilled operatives into a country like the UK to carry out a drone assault.
It is also the case that US forces abroad, including those in the UK, now routinely train for drone attacks and bases are equipped with advanced counter-drone technology.
A mile or so from RAF Lakenheath’s perimeter fence, a long-term resident gave her view on what she considered to be a more practical solution to today’s geopolitical problems.
June, 91, who would only give her first name, said: “I would just knock Trump’s and everyone else’s heads together. To me, it’s like kids arguing over a toy. They need some common sense.”