As the US deploys military aircraft and warships to the Middle East and its surrounding areas in an effort to protect Israel from Iranian attacks, President Donald Trump has warned Tehran to back down from the conflict. Trump’s social media posts have raised the possibility of deepening US involvement in the region, even using bunker buster bombs to target a key Iranian nuclear facility built deep in the mountains. It is stated that Israel does not have the ammunition or aircraft required to destroy such a facility, and that only the United States has this capability.
US Air Force Heads to Region
Trump warned on social media that “We now have complete and absolute control of the skies over Iran.” As of Tuesday, U.S. officials said the U.S. military had not taken any offensive action against Iran, and had only carried out defensive strikes to neutralize Iranian missiles that were coming to protect Israel.
Additional U.S. warplanes and refueling tankers have been deployed to the region, but officials declined to give specific numbers. The warplanes have launched strikes in defense of Israel, but officials said Tuesday there were no U.S. aircraft over Iran.
The US Air Force has deployed additional refueling aircraft and fighter jets to strategic locations in Europe, including the UK, Spain, Germany and Greece, according to Aurora Intel, a group that analyzes open-source information in real time on the Middle East. The information was obtained from public aviation tracking websites. The US moved a dozen F-16s from a base in Italy to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, according to Aurora Intel. US fighter jets are patrolling the skies over the Middle East to protect personnel and facilities, and bases in the region are on high alert and have taken additional security measures, officials said.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not provide any details but said on Fox News Channel late Monday that the military moves were intended to "keep our people safe."
Naval Power and Regional Positioning
American warships also shoot down Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israel; USS The Sullivans ve USS Arleigh Burke launched an attack over the weekend. The Sullivans were ordered to resume defensive strikes in the eastern Mediterranean this week, according to a U.S. official. USS Thomas Hudner while Arleigh Burke fled the area.
USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrieris in the Arabian Sea with four warships in its strike group. This group does not participate in the defense of Israel but is positioned to provide security for U.S. troops and bases along the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.
USS NimitzThe long-planned Carl Vinson replacement is heading west from the Indo-Pacific region toward the Middle East. It is scheduled to arrive by the end of the month and the two carriers will overlap at least briefly before the Vinson heads home to San Diego, the official said.
USS Gerald R. Ford will set sail for the European command area within a week. While the deployment was already planned and was not in response to the conflict, the presence of the carrier and its accompanying warships would give the president the option of a third carrier group in the region if needed. Destroyers are also present in the Red Sea and the western Mediterranean, and some are participating in exercises in the Baltic Sea.
High Alert Level and Bunker Buster Bombs
For days, forces in the region have been taking precautions, such as having military relatives leave bases voluntarily, to prepare for possible attacks and protect personnel in the event of a large-scale response from Tehran. Officials said they were not aware that many families had actually left. According to a U.S. official, there are normally around 30 troops stationed in the Middle East and about 40 currently in the region. That number rose to 43 last October as tensions between Israel and Iran escalated and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis continued their attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea.
Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, also known as the bunker buster, a 30.000-pound GBU-57 Large Ordnance Penetrator It is the only aircraft that can carry. The powerful bomb uses its weight and sheer kinetic force to reach deeply buried targets and then explode. There are currently no B-2 bombers in the Middle East region, but there are B-52 bombers based at Diego Garcia that can carry smaller munitions. If the B-2 bombers were to become operational, they would have to make a 30-hour round trip from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and refuel multiple times.
