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15 March 2003 |
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No powerful United States B2 stealth bombers are heading for Gloucestershire, the Government has said. A Ministry of Defence spokesman told The Citizen reports by news channel ITN that powerful stealth bombers were heading to RAF Fairford were not true. It comes after several of the radar-evading planes took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The planes were heading for a base at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a British protectorate. About 200 technicians and mechanics left Missouri last week. The black, bat-winged B-2 bomber is capable of carrying a payload of conventional or nuclear bombs. It is made of specialised materials and equipped with sophisticated electronics designed to make it almost invisible to radar and other methods of detection. But a Ministry of Defence spokeswoman says reports that any of the B-2 planes were heading for Fairford are not true. "We have had no requests from the US Government to have B-2 bombers land on British soil so it's not even an issue," she said. "In addition, we believe such a request is unlikely at this time." (See also: Stealth bombers prepare for Gulf )
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