US warplanes are being transferred to the UK as President Donald Trump threatens strikes and annexations around the world, the Times newspaper reports.
A flotilla of at least 11 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft and two heavily armed AC-130J Ghostrider attack aircraft landed at two Royal Air Force bases - "Fairford" in Gloucestershire and "Mildenhall" in Suffolk. The transport planes are said to have carried at least five MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and one MH-47G Chinook, which are used for special forces operations.
The helicopters have been spotted in British hangars, according to unconfirmed reports. The bases are shared by the British and American militaries. The American activity in the UK appears to be in preparation for further operations, but no details have been provided through official channels, the "Times" commented.
The "Fairford" base is considered a major air bridge from the US to Europe, and flight records show several Globemasters heading to "Ramstein" in Germany. A US military KC-135R Stratotanker refueling aircraft also landed at "Mildenhall" on Tuesday after flying in from the US.
The newspaper speculates that the US is boosting its military power for several reasons. One is the rising tension in the Middle East and the possibility of intervention in Iran to protect protesters there. Another is Donald Trump's ambitions to annex Greenland to the US. And the third is that the Americans could use the UK as a platform to attack a sanctioned tanker that left Venezuela, changed its flag to Russian, and is approaching British waters.