The US Department of Defense has deployed additional air assets to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran and its regional proxies.
The Pentagon Press Secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, announced on November 1, 2024, that the Department of Defense had ordered the deployment of new fighter squadrons, tanker aircraft, B-52 long-range strategic bombers, and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers equipped with Aegis ballistic missile defense systems.
According to Air & Space Forces Magazine, the combat aircraft deployment will consist of six B-52 bombers and a squadron of F-15E Strike Eagle fighters. The US Central Command confirmed the arrival of B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing of Minot Air Force Base in its area of responsibility on November 3, 2024. They will likely operate from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers from Minot Air Force Base's 5th Bomb Wing arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/6mDs4n5G2u
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) November 2, 2024
“[Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin] continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” Ryder concluded.
These deployments are expected to begin arriving in the region in the coming months following the departure of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. The latter was deployed to the region in August 2024 as part of a larger strategic response to regional threats.
This decision follows recent efforts to enhance Israel’s missile defense capabilities, including the announced deployment on October 13, 2024, of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system along with 100 US service members to operate it. Developed by Lockheed Martin, THAAD is a missile defense system designed to intercept and destroy short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their terminal phase of flight, either descent or atmospheric reentry.
This intensified US presence comes amid escalating tensions in the region. On October 1, 2024, Iran launched a record 200 missiles at Israel, an attack Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian described as retribution for the recent targeted eliminations of leaders from Iranian-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.