As the broader US military build-up in the region continues to gather pace — with 2 Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG) and 2 Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU) converging on the Gulf of Oman, and dozens of C-17 flights suggesting the imminent deployment of ground and special operations forces — Washington is simultaneously reinforcing its air posture in the Middle East.

The latest movements point to a coordinated, multi-domain surge in combat power projection across the theater.

Recent days have seen a series of movements of US fighter jets and other aircraft toward the Middle East region.

In detail, yesterday saw the completion of the forward deployment of 5 US Navy E-2D HAWKEYE aircraft to the operational area. On their transit from the United States, the aircraft made stopovers first at the Azores and then at Aviano Air Base in Italy. The base or bases to which the HAWKEYEs have been assigned remain unclear at this time. These aircraft will likely be employed to detect and track drones in the context of C-UAV missions, leveraging the AN/APY-9 look-down radar. It is also probable that a portion of the aircraft is intended to temporarily replace the 3E-2s embarked aboard the carrier USS FORD, which is currently at anchor in Souda Bay, Crete. Regarding the Carrier Air Wing embarked on FORD (CVW-8), at least a detachment of aircraft appears to have been deployed ashore at the Israeli base of Ovda, where an F-22 RAPTOR squadron is also present.

In parallel, a squadron of F-16Cs (12 aircraft), drawn from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina and specialized in SEAD/DEAD missions, has been deployed to Israel — reportedly to Nevatim Air Base, which has already received at least 20 USAF C-17 cargo flights in the past week, at least five of which originated from Shaw itself. The alternative location would be Ovda, also in Israel, which has likewise seen a number of cargo flights in recent days.

Additionally, yesterday the first 5 of 10 Marine Corps F-35Cs arrived at RAF Lakenheath, also earmarked for deployment to the Middle East.

Finally, on 21 March, 6 US Navy EA-18G GROWLERs departed the Azores bound for the operational area.

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