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Shots Fired at Man Attempting to Force his Way into British Base

British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
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Shots Fired at Man Attempting to Force his Way into British Base

British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)
British police stand guard at the entrance to the US Air Force base at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, Britain December 18, 2017. (Reuters)

A Briton attempted to force his way on Monday into a British military base used by the US Air Force, prompting US military personnel to open fire.

The Mildenhall Royal Air Force base said security staff locked down the base, used by the United States military to refuel US and NATO aircraft in Europe, at about 1300 GMT following reports of a disturbance.

“Shots were fired by American service personnel and a man has been detained with cuts and bruises and taken into custody,” Suffolk police said. “No other people have been injured as a result of the incident.”

Police said they were not looking for anyone else on the site after the man, a 44 year-old Briton, was arrested on suspicion of criminal trespass.

The case is not being treated as terrorism, said police.

A Western security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Suffolk police were taking the lead on the incident and that specialist anti-terrorism officers were not immediately involved.

Suffolk Police confirmed in a statement they were not treating the incident as terrorism and were receiving support from other law enforcement agencies while their investigation continued.

The US Air Force said the incident at the base, which is about 77 miles (125 km) northeast of London, had been contained and the suspect had been apprehended.

Police said they remained on the base but there was no threat to the base or local community.

Mildenhall houses the 100th Air Refueling Wing and some special operations squadrons.

The 1,162-acre base, which is home to about 3,100 US military and an additional 3,000 family members, is earmarked for closure after the United States said it was going to move its operations from the base to Germany.

The base said in a statement staff had been released from the lockdown about an hour-and-a-half after the incident.

“Individuals in the area surrounding the installation are asked to avoid the base at this time,” it said.

In 2016, a delivery driver was convicted of plotting to kill US troops based in England by staging road accidents with soldiers’ cars and then attacking them with knives and possibly a home-made bomb.

Prosecutors said Junead Khan had used his job to scout RAF Mildenhall and two other US bases while on carrying out deliveries.

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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
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Australia, Britain Sign 50-Year AUKUS Submarine Partnership Treaty

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) poses with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong (L), Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy (2nd-L), Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey (2nd-R) and Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles (R) before the start of the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) meeting in Sydney on July 25, 2025. (AFP)

Australia’s government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership.

The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the US in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. US President Donald Trump’s administration announced a formal review of the pact this year.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state.

“The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines,” the statement said.

The treaty was a “commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defense cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I,” it said, adding that it built on the “strong foundation” of trilateral AUKUS cooperation.

Britain’s ministry of defense said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies’ submarine programs and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years.

AUKUS is Australia’s biggest-ever defense project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the program, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the US production base.

Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the US in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed.

The defense and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia’s largest war games.

As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia’s military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability.

Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.