周日，十几架B-1B轰炸机从英格兰西部的皇家空军（RAF）费尔福德起飞，飞回美国。他们的离开突然结束了该基地作为美国于2月28日开始的对伊朗打击发射台的角色。
Over the course of Sunday, a dozen B-1B bombers took off from Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in western England and flew home to the United States. Their departure abruptly ended the base’s role as a launchpad for US strikes on Iran, which began on February 28.
该基地位于伦敦以西约160公里（100英里）处，是美国空军在欧洲唯一的重型轰炸机机场，也是部署轰炸机的关键前沿作战地点。过去两周，六人因涉嫌“恐怖主义”被捕。他们均被保释。
The base, roughly 160km (100 miles) west of London, is the US Air Force’s only European airfield for heavy bombers and a key forward operating location for deployed bombers. Over the past two weeks, six people were arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”. They were all released on bail.
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周一表示，轰炸机被转移是因为“存在一些威胁”，他认为这些威胁与伊朗有关。“所以我们把它们移了一点，不是太远，”他在白宫告诉记者。
US President Donald Trump said on Monday the bombers were moved because “there were some threats”, which he believed were linked to Iran. “So we moved them around a little bit, not very far,” he told reporters at the White House.
几个小时前，美国国务卿马可·卢比奥淡化了与所谓阴谋的任何联系，称“看到轮换发生并不罕见”，并且他对美国基地的安全充满信心。英国皇家空军费尔福德发生了什么？
Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio played down any link to the alleged plot, saying it was “not unusual to see rotations happen” and that he had confidence in the security of US bases. What happened at RAF Fairford?
9月27日，警方逮捕了五名涉嫌密谋在英国费尔福德附近放置爆炸物的男子。一天后，他们被保释。
On September 27, police arrested five men on suspicion of plotting to plant explosives near Fairford in the United Kingdom. They were released on bail a day later.
调查人员在他们的货车中发现汽油，但没有爆炸装置，但英国官员表示，这些人仍在接受调查。周四，警方在伦敦逮捕了一名25岁的英国和伊朗双重国籍者，罪名是涉嫌策划袭击空军基地。他也于10月3日获得保释。
Investigators found petrol but no explosive devices in their vans, though UK officials say the men remain under investigation On Thursday, police arrested a 25-year-old UK-Iranian dual national in London on suspicion of plotting an attack on the airbase. He was also released on bail on October 3.
英国首相安迪·伯纳姆暗示“伊朗在所谓的阴谋中发挥了作用”，但拒绝透露细节。伊朗否认有任何此类计划，并召见英国驻德黑兰大使以抗议逮捕行动。美国拥有哪些轰炸机？美国空军飞行着三种类型的轰炸机，第四种正在飞行中。
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested that “Iran played a part” in the alleged plot but declined to give details. Iran has denied any such scheme and summoned the UK ambassador in Tehran in protest at the arrests. What bombers does the US have? The US Air Force flies three types of bombers, with a fourth on the way.
B-52平流层堡垒是最古老的。目前服役的B-52 H型号建于20世纪60年代初。它的翼展为56米（185英尺），是美国最大的轰炸机，可携带约31吨武器，包括核弹和巡航导弹。
The B-52 Stratofortress is the oldest. The B-52H model currently in service was built in the early 1960s. With a wingspan of 56 metres (185 feet), it is the largest US bomber and can carry about 31 tonnes of weapons, including nuclear bombs and cruise missiles.
2026年3月19日，一架B-52平流层堡垒从英国皇家空军费尔福德起飞[Leon Neal/Getty Images] B-1B Lancer于20世纪80年代中期服役，是三架中速度最快的一架。它的速度可以达到1.2倍音速，并有一个可以向后扫掠以进行高速飞行的摆动翼。它携带最大的常规有效载荷，约34吨，但不再携带核武器。这些就是离开费尔福德的飞机。
A B-52 Stratofortress takes off from RAF Fairford on March 19, 2026 [Leon Neal/Getty Images] The B-1B Lancer which entered service in the mid-1980s, is the fastest of the three. It can reach 1.2 times the speed of sound and has a swing-wing that sweeps back for high-speed flight. It carries the largest conventional payload, about 34 tonnes, but no longer carries nuclear weapons. These were the aircraft that left Fairford.
B-2精神是一种飞翼隐形轰炸机，旨在滑过防空系统。仅建成20座，其中19座仍在服役。它可以携带核武器和常规武器，包括2025年6月美国袭击伊朗核设施时使用的13，600公斤（30，000磅）“掩体克星”炸弹。
The B-2 Spirit is a flying-wing stealth bomber designed to slip past air defences. Only 20 were built, of which 19 remain in service. It can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, including the 13,600kg (30,000lb) “bunker buster” bomb used in US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June 2025.
B-21突袭者是一架较小的隐形轰炸机，仍在飞行测试中，预计将于2027年交付。在未来十五年内，空军计划更换B-1B和B-2，留下未来的B-21和升级版B-52机队。
The B-21 Raider a smaller stealth bomber, is still in flight testing, and it remains on track for delivery in 2027. Over the next decade and a half, the air force plans to replace the B-1B and B-2, leaving a future fleet of B-21s and upgraded B-52s.
B-21突袭者是为美国空军开发的新型高科技隐形轰炸机，2022年12月2日在美国加利福尼亚州帕姆代尔发布的一张未注明日期的照片中可以看到[讲义/美国空军通过路透社]这些轰炸机从哪里飞来？所有美国轰炸机都永久驻扎在美国的五个主要空军基地：B-52 H：路易斯安那州的巴克斯代尔空军基地和北达科他州的迈诺特空军基地德克萨斯州的戴斯空军基地和南达科他州的埃尔斯沃思空军基地密苏里州的怀特曼空军基地将于2027年抵达南达科他州的埃尔斯沃思所有这些基地都拥有又长又宽的跑道，通常超过10，000英尺（3，048米）。
The B-21 Raider, a new high-tech stealth bomber developed for the US Air Force, is seen in an undated photograph in Palmdale, California, US, released on December 2, 2022 [Handout/US Air Force via Reuters] Where do these bombers fly from? All US bombers are permanently based in the US, at five main airbases: B-52H: Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri Due to arrive at Ellsworth in South Dakota in 2027 All of these bases have long, wide runways, typically exceeding 10,000 feet (3,048 metres).
这使得轰炸机跑道大约与大型国际机场的跑道一样长。轰炸机行动地点的限制不是停机坪，而是安全、武器储存和支持。
That makes bomber runways about as long as those at a big international airport. What limits where bombers can operate is not tarmac but security, weapons storage and support.
对于海外任务，美国会轮换轰炸机穿过少数前沿基地。其他重要的海外行动地点包括关岛的安德森空军基地和印度洋的迪戈加西亚。
For missions abroad, the US rotates bombers through a handful of forward bases. Other important overseas operating locations include Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
除此之外，空军还向盟军空军基地派遣一小群轰炸机，每次为期几周，即所谓的轰炸机特遣部队部署。最近的轮换包括西班牙莫伦的B-52、挪威奥兰和日本三泽的B-1 B以及澳大利亚北部廷达尔的B-52（已于9月抵达）。
Beyond these, the air force sends small groups of bombers to allied airbases for a few weeks at a time, in what it calls Bomber Task Force deployments. Recent rotations have included B-52s at Moron in Spain, B-1Bs at Orland in Norway and Misawa in Japan, and B-52s at Tindal in northern Australia, which arrived in September.
轰炸机还可以在空中加油的帮助下执行来自美国的打击任务。美以对伊朗战争期间的轰炸机任务持续了30多个小时。每组三架轰炸机需要六到九架加油机一路加油。
The bombers can also go on a strike mission from the US with the help of aerial refuelling. Bomber missions during the US-Israel war on Iran lasted more than 30 hours there and back. Each group of three bombers needed six to nine tanker aircraft to refuel them along the way.
美国海军发布的这张图像显示了迭戈·加西亚的鸟瞰图[文件：美国海军通过美联社]
This image released by the US Navy shows an aerial view of Diego Garcia [File: US Navy via AP]