British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has had a change of heart, and after first denying the U.S. use of its military airfields during Operation Epic Fury, he’s now partially greenlit the idea, and our B-2 stealth bombers are expected to land at RAF bases in Britain and the island of Cyprus in just a matter of days.
Cyprus is a British Overseas Territory administered by the U.K. and is home to RAF Akrotiri, a key forward operating base for the Brits.
The B-2s are coming:
American B-2 stealth bombers are expected to land at British military bases "in a matter of days" to join the campaign against Iran, The Telegraph has reported.
Citing unnamed senior Western officials, the newspaper indicated that Diego Garcia and Fairford are being prepared for their arrival.
This deployment follows a significant shift in policy from Sir Keir Starmer, who has now granted permission for American forces to utilise RAF bases in Cyprus.
In a late statement on Sunday evening, the prime minister insisted this authorisation was for the "limited specific defensive purpose" of protecting UK and US allies across the Middle East, as Iran continues to lash out.
However, hours after this announcement, reports emerged of a major explosion at RAF Akrotiri, one of the UK bases in Cyprus from which US planes will be permitted to operate.
Multiple European leaders have distanced themselves from the U.S. actions and prefer just to let us do the job while they stand and watch on the sidelines.
Trump was not impressed with Starmer's stance and said in the Oval Office Tuesday, "This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with."
B-2 stealth bombers were the centerpiece of the June 2025 operation, Midnight Hammer, which vaporized Iran’s nuclear research facilities. Among other things, they avoid detection by advanced air defenses and can carry the 30,000‑lb GBU‑57 bunker‑buster. They’ve already been used in Epic Fury, to devastating effect.
For all those left in Iranian leadership, this can’t be good news.
It’s quite the change of heart for the British government, as they previously refused to let our military aircraft operate from their facilities:
The U.S. was cleared to use British bases for limited strikes on Iran’s missile capabilities on Feb. 29 after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the plan, and while U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey stated Britain had "stepped up alongside the Americans."
Starmer said the authorization was granted to protect U.K. and U.S. allies as the conflict escalated. He had previously said he would not allow American forces to use U.K. bases for offensive operations in the region.
Tensions have since been heightened in the U.K. by security incidents in Cyprus. RAF Akrotiri, a key British military base on the island, was struck by a suspected drone on March 2, causing minor damage.
They’re a bit late to the party, but at least they finally showed up.