The auditory component accompanying this piece is presented courtesy of the Air & Space Forces Association, which commends and upholds our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover further details at afa.org
A substantial contingent of F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter aircraft and mid-air refueling tankers has been swiftly dispatched by the Air Force to Israel, anticipating potential military actions against Iran. This deployment occurs as the Trump administration persistently contemplates initiating an aerial offensive targeting the Iranian leadership.
Moreover, additional combat aircraft appear to be proceeding towards the Middle East; recently deployed F-35A Lightning II and F-15E Strike Eagle jets landed on Feb. 26 at RAF Lakenheath in England. This air station frequently serves as an intermediate stop for fighter planes journeying from the United States to the Middle Eastern region.
U.S. Central Command, which supervises military personnel in the Middle East, offered no immediate reply when asked for a remark.
On Feb. 26, a dozen F-35s originating from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, touched down at Lakenheath. Concurrently, twelve F-15Es from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, departed the U.S., having made a brief stay at Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., previously that week.
This marks the initial instance of F-22s being dispatched to Israel for potential military engagements within the Middle East. These aircraft previously assisted in accompanying B-2 Spirit stealth bombers during last June’s Operation Midnight Hammer assaults on Iran’s atomic installations.
“This represents a profound indication of the United States’ earnestness of purpose to employ deadly power should Iran fail to adhere to American demands—foreseeably in partnership with Israel, but yet solitarily if compelled,” remarked retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula. He held a pivotal position in orchestrating the Desert Storm air campaign and presently serves as the head of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
The F-35s from Hill also took part in that earlier operation against Iran, executing missions to neutralize adversary air defense systems.
To date, the U.S. has dispatched 11 F-22s to the Ovda airbase in southern Israel, as revealed by commercial satellite imagery disseminated by a Chinese firm. These jets, allocated to Joint-Base Langley Eustis, Va., were provisionally deployed at RAF Lakenheath prior to their transit to the Middle East. An F-22 from the group of twelve that launched returned, seemingly due to a technical malfunction, based on publicly available air traffic control and flight monitoring information.
On Feb. 25, an additional six F-22s landed at Lakenheath, as reported by local observers, flight monitoring statistics, and air traffic control transmissions. Beyond Operation Midnight Hammer, F-22s have additionally been stationed in the Middle East in prior years to dissuade Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle and projectile assaults targeting U.S. installations and American allies in the area.
American and Iranian negotiators convened on Feb. 26 in Geneva to discuss Iran’s atomic agenda. However, the two parties seem to be widely divergent on crucial matters, among them the American insistence that Tehran cease uranium refinement.
Oman’s foreign minister stated that discussions involving technical specialists would resume in Vienna next week. Oman has assisted in expediting the negotiations.
Aside from refinement, further concerns encompass the management of Iran’s uranium reserves and American requirements for Iran to restrict its long-range projectiles. Iran is not presently refining uranium, subsequent to Operation Midnight Hammer’s assault on three of its atomic installations, however, the Trump government desires the cessation to be perpetual.
The Ovda base has served American aviation during joint drills with Israeli forces, as the Jewish Institute for National Security of America detailed in a 2025 report, compiled by regional defense specialists, among them two retired U.S. Air Force generals. This base, dating from the 1980s, features aircraft hangars and ordnance depots, and can house over 100 aircraft, including fuel carriers.
Ovda may potentially accommodate an even greater number of aircraft shortly. Transport planes, specifically C-17 Globemaster IIIs, have made flights to Ovda from Langley, the primary station for the F-22s, and from Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., the location of F-15E Strike Eagles. A single squadron of F-15Es from Seymour-Johnson is presently stationed in the Middle East, in addition to a squadron of F-15Es belonging to Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing.
Approximately 30 F-35As from Lakenheath’s 48th Fighter Wing and the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing are additionally stationed at an installation beyond Israel’s borders. A significant quantity of F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt II assault aircraft are likewise positioned in the area. Several F-16s are presently stationed at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. In the previous year, F-15Es were dispatched to the British territory, home to a vital U.S. facility, to safeguard the isle during the time B-2 and B-52 bomber aircraft were deployed there. The B-2s executed assaults against Houthi objectives in Yemen during last spring’s Operation Rough Rider.
USAF KC-46 Pegasus and KC-135 Stratotanker mid-air refueling planes are also deployed at Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s principal civilian airfield situated close to Tel Aviv, as indicated by flight monitoring imagery shared on social platforms. Over a period of merely a few hours, between Feb. 26 and Feb. 27 local time, a minimum of seven KC-46s landed at the airfield—an extraordinary accumulation at a non-military aerodrome within a significantly tense area.
Numerous fuel carriers have been relocated to Europe and the Middle East over the past few weeks.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, transporting squadrons of F/A-18 combat planes and EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft, is anticipated to reach the Israeli shoreline in the forthcoming days. The Abraham Lincoln carrier, equipped with F-35Cs, F/A-18s, and EA-18s, is presently situated in the maritime expanse south of Iran.
Both the Ford and the Lincoln are escorted by naval vessels equipped to safeguard against ballistic projectiles potentially fired by Iran and capable of deploying Tomahawk surface-strike cruise missiles.
The auditory component accompanying this piece is presented courtesy of the Air & Space Forces Association, which commends and upholds our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Discover further details at afa.org