Two Latvian men arrested after perimeter breach at RAF Molesworth in England

Two Latvian men have been arrested after a breach at RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, a Royal Air Force base in southeast England that houses US and NATO intelligence operations. Counter-terrorism police said the men were detained inside the site in the early hours of Thursday after officers found a small breach in the perimeter fence. The arrests have prompted an investigation into suspected trespass and entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom.

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Police said the men are aged 36 and 32. According to the statement, a security patrol first spotted an abandoned vehicle near the base before officers identified the breach and made the arrests. The case is being handled by counter-terrorism police, reflecting the sensitivity of the site and the intelligence functions based there.

Authorities said they are keeping an open mind, but at this stage there is nothing to suggest the incident is connected to a separate event at RAF Fairford last week. RAF Molesworth is a non-flying facility managed by the US Air Force and is home to the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre. The base also hosts US intelligence operations in Europe and Africa, according to publicly available information cited by police.

Its role makes any security breach significant, even when the immediate motive is not yet known. The arrests therefore raise questions about perimeter security at a site linked to allied intelligence work. The incident comes only days after a major security event at RAF Fairford in southwest England, where seven men were arrested on 27 September and later released on bail.

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Following that incident, the United States withdrew B-1 bombers stationed at the base. Police have said the nature of the threat at Fairford remains unclear, but the timing has increased attention on military site security in the United Kingdom. The two cases are not currently believed to be linked, although investigators have not ruled anything out.

RAF Molesworth has a long history as a military airfield and is now used for intelligence-related operations rather than flying activity. That makes it part of a wider network of facilities supporting US and NATO interests in Europe. The presence of the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre, which says it has a workforce of more than 200, underlines the strategic importance of the site.

Any intrusion there is likely to be treated as a national security matter rather than a routine trespass case. What remains unclear is the men's motive, whether they acted alone, and how they were able to reach the base interior after the fence was breached. Police have not said what, if anything, was found in the abandoned vehicle or whether further arrests are expected.

#RAFMolesworth #Cambridgeshire #counterterrorismpolice #NATOIntelligenceFusionCentre #USAirForce

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