Twelve US F-22 Raptor fighter jets that departed the UK on Tuesday have arrived at an Israeli Air Force base in southern Israel, Ynet has reported, as the US continues its massive military buildup in the Middle East to prepare for a potential attack on Iran.
The F-22s arrived in the UK last week, part of the more than 150 US military aircraft that have shifted to Europe and the Middle East since February 17, as tracked by The Washington Post.
An Israeli official speaking to China’s Xinhua news agency about the US F-22 deployment said that the Israeli military is preparing for all possible scenarios, including an “Iranian attack or retaliatory strike.” The US defended Israel from Iranian retaliatory strikes during the 12-Day War in June 2025, though many missiles got through US air defenses.
The Ynet report said that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford is still heading east in the Mediterranean Sea and has passed Crete. Once it arrives near Israel’s coast, it will be the second US aircraft carrier positioned in the region to prepare for an attack on Iran, joining the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been operating in the Arabian Sea.
US officials previously told The New York Times that Ford and its three destroyer escorts are likely to be initially deployed near the coast of Israel to defend Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities and towns. The US defended Israel from Iranian counterattacks during the 12-Day War, though many Iranian missiles got through US air defenses, which included US Navy destroyers firing SM-3 missiles.
The Ford was deployed to the Mediterranean after spending several months in the Caribbean, where it supported “Operation Southern Spear,” the US military mission that involved bombing small boats and the attack on Venezuela to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The crew of the Ford has been on an extended deployment and will break the post-Vietnam War US carrier deployment record if it remains at sea through mid-April.
