Category: Campaigning

Stop the bombing: Protest at Fairford US base: Saturday 11 April (1pm – 2.30pm)

Peter Burt

Demonstration and die-in at Fairford US bomber base

Organised by Fairford Action

As the US and Israel’s murderous attacks on Iran enter their sixth week, join us at Fairford air base to call for an immediate end to the war.

Trump’s Iran war defies international law on every level, as an act of aggression breaking the principles of international law and launched without the approval of the US Congress.  Although the number of civilian dead is not known, it is clear that it has already entered the thousands, with attacks hitting cities, homes, and schools.  Trump is already planning further war crimes, threatening to attack power stations and civilian energy infrastructure in Iran. 

Fairford Action protest at Fairford US base, 7 March 2026

The UK has allowed the US Air Force to use Fairford air base to launch attacks on Iran.  Twice a day giant B-1 and B-52 heavy bombers fly from Gloucestershire to the Middle East to rain death on Iran.  Nobody has been fooled by the UK government’s implausible claim that strikes from Fairford will be ‘defensive’ only – a claim the UK has no way of monitoring or enforcing. See detailed briefing here.

Join us to face down this unlawful aggression and demand an immediate end to the war with Iran.

Demo and die-in at Fairford base on Saturday 11 April: 1.00pm – 2.30 pm:

Come for as long or short a time as you can manage.

    Bring banners, placards, food and friends!

    Dress appropriately for the weather.

    Check back here in case of last minute changes before heading to the demo.

PLEASE NOTE: It is not currently practicable to park near the main gate of Fairford air base.  Please park in either Whelford Road or Fairford village and walk to the gate.  Parking anywhere else will be at your own risk.

Demonstration will be by the main gate  at corner of Horcott Road /Maine Street.
Postcode for Sat Nav: GL7 4DL

Briefing Paper: The use of Fairford air base for US military strikes against Iran

Briefing Paper: The use of Fairford air base for US military strikes against Iran

Peter Burt

The use of Fairford air base in Gloucestershire by United States military forces to conduct strikes against targets in Iran has highlighted important issues surrounding the UK’s role in the current conflict in the Middle East.

Since 2024, Drone Wars UK has been investigating and challenging the use of Fairford – an ‘RAF’ base in name only – for USAF drone operations and has joined with CND and Oxfordshire Peace Campaign to oppose the use of the base for the illegal military action against Iran.

Today we are publishing a short briefing paper analysing the governments position in allowing the US to undertake ‘defensive strikes’ on Iran from UK-controlled bases.

Click to open

It discusses command and control structures governing US strikes on Iran and the significant challenges the UK faces in ensuring that its involvement remains within the legal and policy boundaries of “defensive” operations.  It concludes with a number of questions which policy makers and journalists should be asking the government about US bombing missions from UK bases.

If you are concerned about the US war on Iran and the UK’s role in supporting it, you may like to write to your local MP using some of the questions at the end of the briefing.
Naming the dead of Shajareh Tayyebeh School – Fairford 21 March 2026

On Saturday 21st March Fairford Action, supported by Drone Wars UK, CND and Oxfordshire Peace Campaign, held a short protest at the gates of Fairford to remember and name some of those killed in the US/Israeli war on Iran. By far the most shocking attack to date in this shocking war is the US cruise missile attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab on 28 February, which killed 175 children, the vast majority of whom were school children.

Drone Wars Online Day Conference: Sat 22 Feb 2025

Chris Cole

Drones are now rapidly proliferating around the globe enabling belligerents to kill at distance with virtual impunity. At the same time, military planners are pushing ahead with incorporating AI into military systems despite grave concerns about the development of autonomous weapons, while behind the scenes, a number of states now see space as a war-fighting domain and are gearing up for space war.

In conjunction with Leicester CND and to remember the wonderful Penny Walker, Drone Wars are a holding a one-day, online conference to inform and build our campaigning to challenge these developments. 

 

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Read more →

US spy drones out of ‘RAF’ Fairford – public meeting and demonstration in January 2025

Chris Cole

Drone Wars, together with Oxfordshire Peace Campaign and CND, will host an online public meeting and in-person demonstration in January 2025 to oppose flights of US Global Hawk and Reaper drones from RAF Fairford military base in Glos.

The US Air Force (USAF) has applied to the UK’s air regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to change airspace rules to allow RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper drones to fly regularly from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.

In August 2024, a US Global Hawk drone flew into Fairford, conducted two sorties over the following days and then departed.  It appears these were two ‘demonstration’ flights to trial temporary air corridors.  Following a Post-Implementation Review, in which it was revealed that ten flights into Birmingham airport had to be diverted because of the drones flight, the CAA has ordered the USAF/MoD to investigate “mitigation strategies” to resolve the impact on Birmingham Airport.

According to one document submitted to the CAA, the “working assumption” by the USAF is that the corridors would be activated 2-3 times per week but they are “exploring activation periods that exceed these assumption, both in frequency and time periods of utilisation.”  The proposal is that the drones would take off and land overnight: “all activations will be between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise unless in extremis.”   While the application to fly Global Hawks from Fairford is on-going, the application to fly Reapers has been ‘paused’, likely till after Global Hawk flights have been approved,

Online public Meeting:  Wednesday 15th January, 7.00pm – 8.30pm

Join us online to learn more about these dangerous development
and its worrying consequences both locally and globally.

Please register here:  Eventbrite registration

Demonstration at RAF Fairford:  Saturday 25th January, 1pm, Main Gate

 UPDATE:  Protest will go ahead.  

Bring banners and placards, food for lunch, and dress appropriately for the weather.

Demonstration will be by the main gate  at corner of Horcott Road /Maine Street.
Postcode for Sat Nav: GL7 4DL

There will be parking for some cars at main gate with additional parking nearby (See below)

There are some spaces available on mini-bus from Oxford  £10/£5 low-waged.

Pick up point will be the Ashmolean Museum with minibus departing at 11.15 am.
To book a place email: oxonpeace@yahoo.co.uk  on first come/first served basis.

If you can make a donation to cover cost of transport we would be grateful.  Read more →

New ‘Protector’ armed drones to begin flying in UK – Join the protest on 13 November

Chris Cole

 

The UK’s new armed drones – known as  ‘SkyGuardian’ internationally, but renamed ‘Protector’ by the UK –  will begin test flights in the UK next month after the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) agreed to new airspace rules around RAF Waddington.  The MoD will undertake “a small number of time-critical proving flights” of the new drone ahead of a longer test and training programme due to begin in late 2023/early 2024.

The first of an initial batch of sixteen MQ-9B SkyGuardian was flown into RAF Waddington on-board a transport aircraft on 30 September.

According to Jane’s:

“While the Protector fleet will be based at and operated from RAF Waddington, it will spend most of its time overseas in the same manner as the Reaper fleet. A future operational scenario could see the Protector ferry itself from RAF Waddington to a location in the Middle East or Sub-Saharan Africa, arriving in theatre to be met by a team that would arm and prep it for its mission.”

The UK is replacing its fleet of ten Reaper drones with up to 26 of the new ‘Protector’ drones.  The newer drone has further range and longer endurance, as well as being capable of carrying more weapons.  It is also capable of autonomous take-off and landing.

Why we continue to challenge the use of armed drones

As we have argued over the past decade, while remote-controlled drones are presented as enabling ‘pinpoint’ accurate air strikes which enable us to ‘take out’ bad guys without risk to our own forces, the reality is somewhat different. While the UK continues to claim that only one civilian was killed in the thousands of British air and drone strikes in Iraq and Syria, journalists and casualty recording organisations have reported large numbers of civilian casualties from US and UK air strikes.  In addition, as they can be deployed with no or few boots on the ground, making it much easier for political leaders to choose to use armed force.

Armed drones have also enabled a huge increase in so-called ‘targeted killing’ including killing of individuals far from battle zone.  While some argue that it the policy of targeted killing that is problematic, it is hard to deny that the practice has hugely increased with the advent of armed drones. While the US is at the forefront of such operations, the UK too has used its drones to carry out a number of such killings including the killing of a suspected ISIS leader in Syria in December 2022.  Read more →

Future War: The Shape of Things to Come

Chris Cole

A day conference of workshops, discussion and debate on the impact new technologies
will have on future conflicts – and the challenges facing peace activists.

While terrible wars currently rage in Ukraine, Yemen, Ethiopia and elsewhere, preparations for future wars using new technologies is also underway.

New technology can be a spur for great social change, offering tremendous possibilities.  However, innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems and biotechnology are also being used in the military and security realms in ways which will directly and indirectly affect global peace and security. Scrutiny of these developments and building towards peaceful ways to solve political conflicts in ways which do not threaten people and the environment is crucial.

This open public conference organised by Drone Wars and CND  will bring together expert speakers and campaigners to discuss these developments and debate how we can work together to challenge wars today and in the future.

Book your free tickets here 

Supported by Scientists for Global Responsibility, UK Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, Peace News and others.  Read more →