The Royal town of Windsor has been fortified with metal fencing and stepped-up security measures ahead of the state visit to the United Kingdom by US President Donald Trump, due to take place from Sept. 17 to 19, Thames Valley Police said.
Thousands of officers from multiple forces are to be deployed across the two-day visit, which will include a ceremonial welcome and state banquet hosted by King Charles III and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. More than 100 US Secret Service agents are expected to accompany the president, and UK security agencies will put in place a temporary restricted airspace and an expanded drone-based surveillance operation, police said.
Thames Valley Police officials demonstrated drone capability on Monday and said non-police drones and small aircraft will be barred from flying through the protected area while the visit is under way. Inspector Matthew Wilkinson, airspace bronze commander for Thames Valley Police, said the operation would be "one of the larger ones" the force had managed and that officials were engaging with local businesses, hobbyist drone enthusiasts and flying clubs to publicise the restriction.
Police said the temporary drone fleet will use DJIM 30T models already employed in everyday policing tasks; each drone can reach up to 120 metres (400 feet) and is expected to remain airborne for about 30 minutes, with replacement drones launched before a craft comes down to maintain continuous coverage.
Specialist Search Unit officers were photographed carrying out security searches around Windsor Castle in recent days, scouring bollards, drains and litter bins while working with sniffer dogs. Sergeant Amber Timmis, a police search adviser, said the searches would run daily until the president's visit ended and that Thames Valley Police had extensive experience providing security for royal and national events.
The scale of physical fortification has drawn attention in the town, with metal fences and other temporary defences being installed at strategic locations around the castle precinct. The Mirror reported that the security operation will also include SAS troops on standby, backed by a US special forces unit, though Thames Valley Police said the overall response would be coordinated across multiple agencies.
Officials said the first day of the visit will be largely private and confined to the Windsor estate, simplifying some aspects of immediate public security. A military flypast by the Red Arrows and UK and US F-35 jets over the east lawn at Windsor Castle is planned for that day, a combination organisers described as an uncommon addition to a state visit. On the second day the president and first lady are scheduled to travel to Chequers, the prime minister's country residence in Buckinghamshire; the presidential motorcade and the presidential limousines will be transported ahead by US Air Force transport aircraft.
Organisers also said temporary airspace restrictions would be enforced and that police will have resources to respond to incursions into the zone. "We will have plenty of capability in the sky when the time is appropriate," Inspector Wilkinson said, adding that flying in restricted airspace is an offence and enforcement measures would be in place.
The security measures come amid heightened concern about threats to visiting world leaders. The Daily Mail reported that the operation had been reviewed in light of an apparent assassination in Utah that it said had targeted a close ally of the president; the newspaper quoted a source saying the event added "a level of complexity and uncertainty" to planning while investigations continued. Police declined to provide operational detail but said agencies were assessing any intelligence and potential risk.
Plans for public demonstrations have also shaped security deployments. The Stop Trump Coalition has organised a mass demonstration in central London on the first day of the visit and a further protest planned near Windsor Castle. Police said they were working to balance the right to protest with safety and the need to protect the visiting head of state.
The visit will mark an unprecedented second state visit by a sitting US president to the UK, following a state-level trip in 2019 and a separate private trip to Scotland in July. The measures also reflect lingering concern following a 2024 shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in which the then-candidate survived an attack; weaknesses uncovered during that incident had prompted scrutiny of protective arrangements for US officials.
Thames Valley Police said it would keep local residents and businesses informed about restrictions and searches, and reiterated that the operation would be multi-agency and dynamic in response to current assessments of threat and public safety.