The United States has sharply expanded its air power across the Middle East and parts of Europe, sending F-22, F-15, and F-35 fighter jets to bases in Israel, Jordan, and surrounding areas as the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program intensifies. In a historic first, nearly a dozen F-22 Raptors have arrived at an Israeli air base, positioning American stealth fighters within striking range of Iranian targets. The buildup, which now exceeds 150 aircraft across the region, represents one of the largest U.S. aerial surges in years and signals that Washington is preparing for a range of military scenarios even as diplomatic options narrow.
F-22 Raptors Land in Israel for the First Time
The most striking element of the current buildup is the deployment of nearly a dozen F-22 combat jets to Israel, stationed at Ovda Air Base in the Negev Desert. The F-22 Raptor is the U.S. Air Force’s most advanced air superiority fighter, and its presence on Israeli soil marks the first time Washington has positioned such aircraft there for what has been described as a potential wartime mission against Iran. Previous joint exercises between U.S. and Israeli forces have involved American fighters operating from regional bases, but basing F-22s inside Israel itself represents a qualitative shift in how the Pentagon is staging assets for a possible conflict.
Ovda, a relatively remote installation in southern Israel, offers geographic advantages for operations aimed at Iran. The base sits far from Israel’s densely populated northern border areas, reducing vulnerability to short-range rocket or missile attacks from Hezbollah or other Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon and Syria. Placing stealth aircraft there also shortens the distance to Iranian airspace compared with launching sorties from Gulf states, where political sensitivities and basing agreements can complicate rapid operations. The choice of Ovda suggests the Pentagon is thinking not just about deterrence but about operational readiness for strikes that could unfold quickly if diplomacy collapses.
Over 150 Aircraft Surge Into the Region
The F-22 deployment to Israel is part of a much broader aerial mobilization. According to open-source analysis and flight tracking cited by the Washington Post investigation, more than 150 U.S. aircraft have swept into Europe and the Middle East in recent weeks, including a mix of fighter jets, tankers, surveillance platforms, and support aircraft. This surge has unfolded across multiple bases and countries simultaneously, creating a dispersed posture that complicates any adversary’s targeting calculus. Instead of concentrating forces at one or two installations, the Pentagon is spreading assets across a wide arc from southeastern Europe to the Arabian Peninsula, allowing for flexible responses and redundancy if a single base is attacked or politically constrained.
Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base has emerged as a central hub in this effort. More than 60 warplanes have arrived at the installation, according to detailed reporting on Muwaffaq Salti movements, making it one of the most heavily reinforced U.S. forward operating locations in the theater. Muwaffaq Salti previously hosted American drones and a relatively small contingent of troops, but the influx of dozens of additional fighters transforms it into a major strike and air defense node. Jordan’s geographic position, bordering Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, makes it an ideal staging point for missions that could cover multiple threat axes at once, from defending against Iranian missile launches to policing airspace over Iraq and Syria.
The scale of the deployment also raises practical questions about logistics and sustainability. Keeping more than 150 aircraft mission-ready across dispersed bases demands enormous quantities of fuel, munitions, spare parts, and maintenance crews, as well as robust command-and-control links that can coordinate sorties from different countries and services. The Pentagon has not publicly detailed how long it intends to maintain this posture, but the speed and breadth of the surge suggest planners are preparing for a sustained period of heightened readiness rather than a short-term show of force. That, in turn, implies a willingness to absorb significant financial and political costs to keep pressure on Tehran while diplomatic avenues remain blocked.
A Second Carrier Group Closes In
The air buildup is not happening in isolation. A second U.S. aircraft carrier is now approaching the Middle East, adding a floating airfield and its escort ships to the forces already in the region. Reporting from the Wall Street Journal describes how this additional carrier group brings with it 60 to 80 aircraft, including strike fighters and electronic warfare platforms, along with guided-missile cruisers and destroyers capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles. Deploying two carrier strike groups to the same theater at the same time is a step the U.S. military typically reserves for periods of serious tension or active conflict, and it dramatically increases the volume of sorties and missile salvos Washington could execute on short notice.
The carrier movement coincides with stalled nuclear negotiations, as efforts to reach a deal constraining Iran’s nuclear program have not produced results. The diplomatic impasse appears to be a driving factor behind the military escalation, with U.S. officials seeking to demonstrate that force remains a credible alternative if talks fail. The dual-carrier posture, combined with land-based fighter deployments in Israel and Jordan, creates a layered strike architecture that could hit Iranian nuclear facilities, air defenses, and command nodes from multiple directions simultaneously. This capability is designed not only for warfighting but for signaling: by visibly assembling such a robust array of assets, Washington is attempting to convince Tehran that the costs of continued nuclear advancement could be severe, while also reassuring regional partners who fear being left exposed if negotiations collapse.
What the Buildup Means for Regional Stability
Most analyses of U.S. force posture in the Middle East focus on the hardware involved, counting jets, ships, and bases. The more consequential question is what this deployment pattern reveals about American strategic assumptions. By placing F-22s inside Israel and massing fighters in Jordan, the Pentagon is effectively building an integrated air operations network that ties together Israeli, Jordanian, and American assets under a common operational umbrella. This goes beyond traditional bilateral defense cooperation, creating a structure in which allied air forces can share targeting data, coordinate refueling and escort missions, and sequence strikes in ways that maximize pressure on Iran’s defenses while minimizing overlap and gaps.
That integration carries both stabilizing and destabilizing potential. On one hand, a tightly coordinated coalition air posture can deter Iran from escalating by making clear that any attack on one partner would trigger a rapid, multi-front response. On the other hand, the very density and proximity of these forces increase the risk that a miscalculation, accidental shootdown, or misinterpreted exercise could spiral into a wider confrontation. Iran and its regional proxies are likely to view the F-22 presence in Israel and the expanded footprint in Jordan as preparation for preemptive strikes, potentially prompting them to disperse assets, harden facilities, or stage their own shows of force. The result is a security environment in which each side feels compelled to move first to avoid being caught flat-footed, even as both publicly insist they seek to avoid war.
Deterrence, Escalation, and the Road Ahead
The current U.S. buildup reflects a classic tension in deterrence strategy: the same military moves meant to dissuade an adversary from taking aggressive action can be interpreted as preparations for attack. By surging more than 150 aircraft into the broader region, stationing stealth fighters in Israel, and sailing a second carrier toward key maritime chokepoints, Washington is trying to raise the perceived costs of any Iranian dash toward a nuclear weapon or major strike on U.S. or allied targets. The hope among U.S. planners is that a visible, credible threat of force will push Tehran back to the negotiating table or at least slow its nuclear advances. Yet history suggests that such buildups can also harden positions, as governments under pressure rally domestic support by portraying themselves as victims of foreign intimidation.
For regional states caught between these poles, the U.S. deployments are a double-edged sword. Israel and some Gulf partners are likely to welcome the added American muscle as a hedge against Iranian power, but they also know that their own territory would be among the first targets in any retaliatory campaign. Jordan, which hosts a major share of the new aircraft, must balance its security partnership with Washington against domestic sensitivities and the risk of being drawn into a conflict many of its citizens oppose. As the standoff continues, the question is whether the current surge becomes a semi-permanent fixture of U.S. posture, normalizing a higher baseline of tension, or whether it can be dialed back if even a limited diplomatic opening emerges. For now, the message from the flight lines and carrier decks is clear: the United States is preparing for a range of contingencies, and it wants Iran, its allies, and the wider world to see that preparation in unmistakable terms.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
