US sends F-22 Raptors to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran

The military deployed nearly a dozen Air Force fighter jets to the Persian Gulf state of Qatar this week amid escalating tensions with Iran and threats against American forces in the region.

The F-22 Raptors arrived Thursday to al-Udeid air base, the hub for U.S. air operations in the Middle East. In a statement, U.S. Central Command said the planes were being deployed to Qatar for the first time to "defend American forces and interests."

The planes carry air-to-air missiles and can perform ground attack missions. The military used the F-22s last year in support of U.S. and allied forces in Syria.

Tensions in the region between Washington and Teheran have heightened in recent weeks. In May, President Trump deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and a B-52 bomber task force to send a "message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force.”

The Military.com reported that Raptors have in the past been stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. The fifth-generation fighter had been part of the air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since the fight began in 2014; they returned home last fall, and were replaced by F-15C Eagles earlier this year.

The F-22, a critical component of the Global Strike Task Force, is designed to project air dominance, rapidly and at great distances and defeat threats attempting to deny access to our nation’s Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The F-22 cannot be matched by any known or projected fighter aircraft.

The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force.

The Drive noted that Raptors arrived in Qatar just over a week after the Iranians shot down a U.S. Navy RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator drone, or BAMS-D, flying over the Gulf of Oman.

The downing of a U.S. surveillance drone by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had brought the two foes to the brink of war. Tehran said the drone violated its airspace but Washington insisted it was flying over international waters in the Gulf.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/air-force-...

https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-air...

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