Today, three B-1 Lancer bombers from the US Air Force were spotted landing at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. This move is part of what former President Donald Trump has dubbed ‘the big one’ in relation to Iran.

These formidable long-range aircraft, capable of deploying 24 cruise missiles each, stand among the most potent conventional bombers available to the United States military.

Their deployment to the UK coincides with the Pentagon’s announcement of increased military operations against Iran. The UK airbase is poised to accommodate an expanding fleet of US bombers, amidst growing concerns that tensions could rapidly escalate.

This follows the arrival of a B-1 bomber at RAF Fairford last Friday evening, with expectations of more stealth aircraft like B-2s and B-52s joining it soon.

Western officials confirmed earlier this week that these aircraft were anticipated to arrive at the base, with the UK prepared to host them.

The strategic bombers, with an estimated cost of up to $2 billion each, are designed for undetected long-range missions, equipped to deliver some of the world’s most powerful missiles.

Meanwhile, a C-5 Super Galaxy cargo plane was pictured at the base Friday night. 

The biggest plane in the US armory, its cargo bay can carry two M1 Abrams main battle tanks, six Apache helicopter gunships or up to 36 military vehicles. 

It flew in to Gloucestershire from Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas on Friday ahead of the first B1-bomber to land from the 7 Bomb Wing that is based there.

Sources have suggested that Saturday could be D-day for a new gigantic bombardment – exactly a week after America and Israel first attacked Iran as part of ‘Operation Epic Fury’.

The US President warned Iran this week that ‘the big one’ was coming, adding: ‘We haven’t even started hitting them hard. The big wave has not even happened.’

And US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said overnight that America will now use British RAF bases to ‘dramatically’ up its strikes on Iran after the Prime Minister allowed the Americans to launch defensive strikes from UK-US bases.

‘When we say more to come, it’s more fighter squadrons, it’s more capabilities, it’s more defensive capabilities, and it’s more bomber pulses more frequently,’ Mr Hegseth said. 

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. 

Piloted by a crew of four, ‘the Bone’ – as the aircraft is nicknamed – 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.

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.’

After a delay that saw Trump claim that Sir Keir Starmer was ‘unhelpful’ and is ‘no Winston Churchill’, the UK is now letting the US use British bases for ‘defensive’ strikes against missile facilities in Iran. 

Experts believe America could drop the ‘Mother of All Bombs’ on Iran – a 10-tonne explosive that can create a 1,000ft crater when it explodes. 

Today central Tehran was hit with one of the biggest explosions of the war so far on Friday.

There were deafening bangs and multiple plumes of smoke and fireballs as a huge payload hit the Moqaddad base of the Revolutionary Guards. Tehran’s famous Azadi Tower can be seen in the centre of a video as the bombs rained down on the Iranian capital.

Debris was thrown across the city centre and some witnesses even claimed they  have seen bodies thrown up more than 100ft in the air.

B-1 bombers, which are based at Dyess in Texas, can carry out long-range missions without detection while carrying the world’s most devastating missiles. 

They are the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force and according to the US Air Force can ‘rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time’.

‘The B-1 is a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system,’ the force’s website boasts. 

‘The B-1B’s synthetic aperture radar is capable of tracking, targeting and engaging moving vehicles as well as self-targeting and terrain-following modes.’ 

In a further sign of air activity hotting up around Fairford, a temporary Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) has been put in place today.

B-1 bombers, which are based at Dyess in Texas, can carry out long-range missions without detection while carrying the world’s most devastating missiles. 

They are the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force and according to the US Air Force can ‘rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time’.

 

‘The B-1 is a highly versatile, multi-mission weapon system,’ the force’s website boasts. 

‘The B-1B’s synthetic aperture radar is capable of tracking, targeting and engaging moving vehicles as well as self-targeting and terrain-following modes.’ 

In a further sign of air activity hotting up around Fairford, a temporary Transponder Mandatory Zone (TMZ) has been put in place today.

The move, which requires aircraft to switch their transponders on in that area for better safety by making them easier for air traffic control to spot, came into force at 3pm for the next month – indicating that the base will be busier than normal for at least the next few weeks. 

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the US aircraft’s movements when approached by the Daily Mail.   

Today, Trump said there would be no deal with Iran unless it is an ‘unconditional surrender’. 

He made the remarks on social media just hours after Iran’s president announced that unspecified countries had begun mediation efforts, one of the first signals of any diplomatic initiative to end the conflict.

Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US President said: ‘There will be no deal with Iran except 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.’

As Trump laid into Sir Keir for delaying access to UK military runways around the world, including in Diego Garcia, Mr Hegseth said last night: ‘We got there’.

‘The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,’ Mr Hegseth warned.

The MOAB, the US’s largest non-nuclear weapon, may be dropped in the coming days and weeks.

It has been nicknamed the ‘Mother Of All Bombs’ – a play on the acronym ‘MOAB’, which stands for ‘Massive Ordnance Air Burst’.

A crater left by the blast is believed to be more than 100ft wide. Anyone at the blast site is vaporised.

It has not yet been deployed in Iran but was used in Afghanistan in 2017.

President Trump has long told reporters at the White House how ‘very proud’ he is of it.

American B-2 bombers did drop similarly destructive GBU-57 bunker-busters on Iranian uranium enrichment sites in June 2025.

The MOAB causes surface-level, wide-area destruction, while the GBU-57 burrows deep into the earth before exploding.

Military experts have said that the ‘big one’, which Trump has warned Iran about, will use America’s most destructive arsenal – and appears imminent.

Sascha Bruchmann, a research fellow for defence at the office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Bahrain, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The big one is a sustained bombing campaign via the strategic bomber fleet, so the B-1s, the B-2s and the B-52s.

‘Last night, Centcom [US Central Command] said there was one B-1 bomber, and the night before there were four B-2s, who dropped heavier payloads, so 1,000 to 2,000lb bombs with some bunker-busting capabilities against those missile cities.

‘Now that there’s air dominance achieved, and we’ve seen US Reaper drones over cities, which you wouldn’t have if there were some kind of air defences’.

Iain Ballantyne, editor of Warships International Fleet Review magazine, told the newspaper: ‘The most obvious thing that President Trump may mean by ‘the big one’ is some kind of MOAB – the ‘Mother of All Bombs’.’

He added that these terrifying air attacks would be ‘co-ordinated with the US navy unleashing not only the USS Gerald R Ford but also the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike groups – both Tomahawk [missiles] from their destroyers and air wings – along with possible bombardments by submarines’.

Sir Keir was branded delusional last night after insisting he has got a grip on the Middle East crisis.

At an emergency press conference in Downing Street, the Prime Minister claimed he was delivering ‘calm, level-headed leadership’.

But his relationship with Britain’s most important ally hit a new low as Trump branded him a ‘loser’.

Sir Keir urged Trump to ‘de-escalate’ the crisis and negotiate with what is left of Iran’s leadership. But the PM admitted that, despite the global crisis, he had not spoken to the US President for almost a week following their spectacular falling out.

He also faced a growing chorus of criticism from allies in the Middle East over the lack of preparations that has led to Cyprus looking for military support from France, Italy and Spain – rather than Britain – after an RAF base on the island was hit by an Iranian drone.

And, in further farcical scenes, the UK failed to get its first evacuation flight from Oman off the ground, despite other countries having no such issues ferrying their citizens to safety.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Sir Keir was in denial, adding: ‘Never in the history of our great nation has a government been so feeble at a time when our people and allies are under assault.’

Sir Keir was stung into a public defence of his actions following days of criticism.

At a hastily arranged press conference, he accused President Trump of plunging the Middle East ‘into chaos’ with his attacks on Iran. He defended his decision to avoid taking any ‘offensive’ action against Tehran even after British bases were targeted.

Sir Keir suggested that the fallout from the conflict could go on for months, with potentially huge impacts on energy bills and the cost of living – and the possibility of a new refugee crisis.

He acknowledged that relatives of the tens of thousands of British citizens trapped in the war zone were ‘worried sick’ but said a mass evacuation ‘is not going to happen overnight’.

Kemi Badenoch said it was ‘shocking’ that Labour’s political considerations appeared to have played a part in determining the Government’s response to the US.

Mrs Badenoch said the RAF should now join bombing raids aimed at taking out Iran’s ballistic missile launchers.

Nigel Farage said the Government should have supported the US-Israeli attack on Iran ‘from day one’, adding: ‘If this war stops Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, it will have been worth it.’

The Reform UK leader said Sir Keir appeared to have been the victim of a ‘Left-wing revolt’ by Ed Miliband which had left Britain ‘humiliated’ on the world stage.

President Trump stepped up his criticism of Sir Keir last night, telling the New York Post: ‘It was very disappointing – his performance, having to do with our tremendous attack on a hostile nation.

‘I was very surprised at Keir. Very disappointed.’

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are both said to have accused Sir Keir of doing too little to defend British interests and allies in the region. The Spectator magazine reported that senior figures in Jordan are ‘furious’ at the Government. And Cyprus’s high commissioner publicly said he was ‘disappointed’ with the UK’s response.

Sir Keir announced that Britain is sending another four Typhoon jets to Qatar.

And defence secretary John Healey visited Cyprus in a bid to mend fences with a country that feels it has become a target for Iran because of the presence of the British base at RAF Akrotiri.

Downing Street rejected suggestions the Government failed to have enough military assets in the Middle East after the base was hit. Sir Keir said air defence capabilities had been ‘pre-deployed’ before the US assault began.

Ministers faced more embarrassment after admitting the warship earmarked to defend Britain’s Cyprus base might not arrive for a fortnight.

Sir Keir finally ordered the deployment of HMS Dragon on Tuesday, amid fury that the crucial site had been left vulnerable to Iranian reprisals.

Instead, Greek, Spanish, French and Italian vessels have been covering to intercept missiles and drones in what critics have decried as an ‘humiliation’ for the UK.   

HMS Dragon is still being prepared in dock at Portsmouth, and is not expected to leave until next week. 

And Mr Healey, who is on Cyprus, suggested that the delay could be even longer.