An unusual number of US military aircraft have made their way towards Europe following increased tensions in the Middle East with the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran.
On Sunday night, more than two dozen refuelling aircraft, including KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers, took flight eastbound across the North Atlantic.
The volume of aircraft and flight patterns likely indicate a deliberate deployment of the refuelling assets, instead of training operations or similar routines.
The KC-135 Stratotankers is understood to be participating in NATO’s Atlantic Trident exercise, alongside US Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs, F-15E Strike Eagles and European fighter jets.
But, the mass movement suggests another reason behind the migration of aircraft, with some experts linking it to potential response plans.
It is unknown where the fuelling planes are set for, though many were tracked heading into European airspace and potentially onward to Middle Eastern bases used by the US and NATO.
Israel and Iran have continued to attack each other through air strikes with the latter nation damaging Tel Aviv’s US embassy with its latest volley.
Iran’s leader, Ali Khamenei, contests that the United States, and potentially its allies, has aided Israel’s missile defence, sparking the leader to threaten strikes on US assets in retaliation.
President Donald Trump responded: “If we are attacked in any way, shape, or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before.”
Trump has played down US involvement with recent reports indicating the 79-year-old vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Have the Iranians killed an American yet? No. Until they do we’re not even talking about going after the political leadership,” an unnamed US official told Reuters.
Israel’s initial strike on Iran followed prolonged talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The recently departed convoy could suggest an escalation in the conflict, with US AEGIS-equipped destroyers and THAAD anti-missile systems already stationed in the region.
Widescale refuelling aircraft could offer support for further fighters, bombers, or ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) units.
Aerial refuelling is a key logistical component of modern military operations, with both the KC-135 and KC-46 models deployed being capable of transferring tens of thousands of pounds of fuel mid-flight to a variety of jets.
