A massive wave of US airpower, including F-22 Raptors, F-16 Fighting Falcons, E-3 Sentry radar planes and a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, is en route to the Middle East, flight data shows, hinting at a massive US mobilisation towards a potential attack on Iran.
The movement of US aircraft is the most intense, considering that reports quoting US officials cite that the Trump administration is preparing for the possibility of prolonged operations lasting several weeks. The current positioning of the US forces and that of Israeli forces would be enough for major operations lasting several weeks. More deployments are also likely.
Online flight data indicated that over a dozen F-22s have left Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, heading east. The fighters are likely to stop at the Lakenheath Air Base in the U.K., a major transit hub for aircraft moving between the U.S. and the Middle East.
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The F-22 are the most advanced air-to-air fighter that can destroy enemy air defences and other ground targets. The Raptors have been used to drop guided bombs against ISIS targets and for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, including against the ISIS targets in Syria. Raptors also helped protect B-2A Spirit stealth bombers during last June’s Operation Midnight Hammer attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Besides the Raptors, a whopping 36 F-16s are on the move toward the Middle East. This reportedly includes 12 each from Aviano Air Base in Italy, Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany and McEntire Joint National Guard Base (JNGB) in South Carolina.
As per reports, two E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) jets landed at Mildenhall Air Base in the UK on Tuesday. As for the U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane, which he is heading towards Iran, it can provide high-altitude surveillance in addition to serving as a communications link between F-22s and F-35 Lighting II stealth fighters, according to The War Zone.
Not just air power, even US naval power in the region is being strengthened. While the biggest warship on the earth, USS Gerald R Ford, has crossed the Gibraltor, enroute to the Arabian Sea, the US has also deployed a seventh Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the USS Pinckney, to the region. This makes a total of 12 surface combatants in the area, including the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) and its three Arleigh Burke-class escorts. The US have also deployed nuclear submarines there, with at least one accompanying each carrier group as well as likely guided missile submarines (SSGN), The War Zone added.