U.S. Media Exposes Large Numbers of U.S. Fighter Jets Flying to the Middle East

According to the U.S. "The Drive" website on March 3, as the U.S.-Israel joint military operation against Iran called "Epic Fury" entered its fourth day, the war has become increasingly fierce. In response to the complex battlefield situation, the United States is accelerating the deployment of tactical aviation forces to the Middle East. On March 3, a new batch of F-35A stealth fighters and F-15E multi-role fighters took off from the Royal Air Force base at Lakenheath in the UK, heading directly to the Middle East theater.

Just a few days earlier, on March 1, three F-15E fighters were accidentally hit by friendly fire over Kuwait and crashed, although six crew members survived, this incident also exposed the serious reality of the current airspace where missiles and drones are intertwined, and the difficulty of identifying friend or foe.

The open-source intelligence account @DefenceGeek tracked that this included more than a dozen F-35A aircraft originally stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. Aviation photographer Eugenia Golding and Paul Field, who live near the Lakenheath base, captured the F-35A formation taking off with the support of KC-135 refueling aircraft, followed closely by three F-15E fighters heading to the front line.

In addition to tactical fighter jets, B-2 "Spirit," B-1B "Lancer," and B-52 "Stratofortress" strategic bombers have already taken off from the U.S. mainland to participate in the attack on Iranian targets. At the same time, dozens of transport planes have been continuously shuttling back and forth, transporting air defense systems and other war materials to the region.

Within the first 72 hours of the operation, Central Command announced that over 1,700 targets had been destroyed, including command and control centers, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities, air defense systems, ballistic missile and anti-ship missile positions, and naval bases. The Muwafak Salati military base in the center of Jordan has become the core hub for U.S. tactical aircraft.

As the country with the strongest aerial power in the region, the Israeli Air Force has also launched multiple large-scale air strikes on Iranian targets. In addition, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed that one of its F-35B fighters shot down an Iranian drone on March 3 over Jordan; France has deployed "Rafale" fighters to the Dafra base in the UAE to protect its naval and air bases in the region from Iranian attacks. Greek fighters have also been stationed in Cyprus to carry out defensive missions.

Regarding how long this conflict will last, Trump's latest estimate is "four to five weeks." However, analysts point out that if maintaining an intense campaign lasting more than a month, the current troop deployment may still be insufficient. As the war drags on, more U.S. air assets are expected to flow into the Middle East.

Mohammad Muhbebar, a senior assistant to the late Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, said on April 4 that Iran has no intention of negotiating with the United States, and the war "will last as long as it wants."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1858748777085961/

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