12 US Air Force (USAF) F-22 Raptor stealth fighter aircraft arrived at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, England ahead of deployment to an undisclosed air base in the Middle East.
Accompanied by KC-46 Pegasus air-to-air refuelling tankers the F-22 Raptors from the 90th and 525th fighter squadrons flew non-stop from Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Alaska.
The move comes as US military forces are forward deployed to help defend Israel and US assets ahead of an expected Iranian and Hezbollah attack in the coming days.
The US Department of Defense also ordered a squadron of F/A-18 Super Hornets from the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt to deploy to a regional partner base.
Tensions have escalated in the region following the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr in Beruit.
The F-22s and other fighter aircraft that are being deployed to the Middle East will be tasked to shoot down drones and cruise missiles should Iran launch them towards targets in Israel.
The F-22 Raptor is a twin-engine, all-weather stealth fighter aircraft developed and produced for the USAF. It was designed as an air superiority fighter through the USAF’s Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) programme, but also includes ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. Lockheed Martin served as the prime contractor and built most of the F-22’s airframe and weapons systems, while Boeing, as a programme partner, provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
