AN elderly resident has voiced concerns following news that RAF Fairford is set to house a number of large reconnaissance aircraft and see an increase in operations, which she fears may disrupt life in the “quiet” town.

About £36million is set to be spent by the U.S. Air Force to revamp the base for the RC-135 Rivet Joint intelligence-gathering aircraft, currently housed at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, which will close.

Speaking at the recent Fairford annual meeting, the resident said: “It’s a change of policy, really, because the Obama administration was nice and calm wasn’t it?

“And now we’ve got the Trump administration which wants more ‘umph’, I think.

“I’m just worried, because it’s quiet in Fairford and I’m happy with it. But once it gets noisy at the base, I get anxious,” she added.

The revamp will include new intelligence and squadron operating facilities as well as adjustments to Fairford’s runway and infrastructure, according to the Air Force’s fiscal 2018 budget documentation.

USAF TSgt Aaron H. Thomasson, 501st Combat Support Wing, based at Fairford, said: “After a strategic and thorough review of options to determine the best potential sites, the Secretary of the Air Force has approved the relocation of the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron and the 488th Intelligence Squadron to RAF Fairford.

“This enables U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa to reduce excess capacity without any loss of operational capabilities.”

He went on to say the exact timeline for the completion of the move is “projected for no earlier than 2021”.

An article in Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine last month, said: “Fairford has one of the longest runways in the UK, making it a suitable location for the heavy intelligence-gathering aircraft to get airborne for long missions.”

At the annual meeting, a spokeswoman for the base said: “My understanding is that from 2021 the base’s American presence will be expanded and so therefore, presumably, the quarters will continue to be used by Americans, or start to be used again by Americans.”

She added that there will also be an “increase in personnel over the next few months”.