The £4.6bn RAF base next to gorgeous village where US flies jets to Middle East

Amongst the green and pleasant land of the English countryside is a crucial air base which could soon be used by the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, to send deadly fighter jets to strike abroad.

RAF Lakenheath is located right next to a village of the same name in Suffolk.

It is the largest US Air Force (USAF) base in Europe, and is owned by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

However, it is leased to the United States, which uses it as a British base for some of its aircraft.

The village itself is set within beautiful rural areas. Nearby is the Lakenheath Fen RSPB reserve.

The settlement is the meeting point of The Fens and the Breckland natural environments. The nature reserve was created in 1996 and is comprised of wetlands from agricultural fields.

In 2007, cranes were reportedly nesting there for the first time since the lands were drained in the 16th century.

Lakenheath has pubs, a shopping street and a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878. Horse-riding services are also there.

In addition, it has a library, a small hotel, a skate park and a children’s play park.

The air force base was originally built by the RAF during the Second World War, but has hosted the USAF since 1948.

The base is reportedly home to as many as 54 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multi-role fighters.

According to Simple Flying, the F-35 Lightning II is a multi-role jet used by multiple air forces, including the US and UK.

As of December 2023, they cost up to $109million per aircraft.

This converts to £86,717,893. Therefore, 54 of these would carry a hefty price tag of £4.6billion.

Lakenheath was one of the bases over which unidentified drones were spotted flying.

The incidents occurred between Wednesday and Friday, and saw ‘small unmanned aerial systems’ also hovering over RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, as well as RAF Feltwell in Norfolk.

The USAF said it was unclear, as of November 23, whether the drones were considered hostile, the BBC reports.

The air force also declined to comment on whether it used any of its defence mechanisms were used, but added that it retained ‘the right to protect’ installations.

Drones were also reportedly spotted on Tuesday (November 26).

US Central Command announced in a post on X November 7 that U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle jets from the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath had arrived in the US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) Area of Responsibility (AR).

This includes the Middle East, including Egypt, Central Asia and parts of South Asia.

In 1998, each F-15E Strike Eagle cost $31.1million.