Earlier this year, the United States announced it was redeploying advanced combat aircraft from the Middle East to Europe and the Pacific. Now, Washington is redeploying fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor stealth fighters and F-16s to that volatile region along with navy ships.
On July 20, the Department of Defense announced that the USS Bataan (LHD 5), an amphibious assault ship, and Carter Hall (LSD 50), a dock landing ship, were being deployed to the region. Their deployment aims to counter “recent attempts by Iran to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters.”
The announcement came mere days after the Defense Department announced an increased presence in Central Command’s area of responsibility, the broader Middle East, with the deployment of the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) along with F-35 and F-16 fighters. The deployments are in response to attempts by Iranian naval forces to seize two merchant vessels earlier in July. Iran also tested a one-way explosive drone against a practice barge in the Gulf of Oman in mid-July.
These latest deployments follow a separate deployment of F-22s to the region in mid-June. That deployment aims to counter and deter aggressive and reckless flying by Russian fighter pilots over Syria. Russian jets have repeatedly overflown U.S. troop positions while brandishing air-to-surface munitions and interfered with U.S. drone operations over the country, including one against the Islamic State.
That F-22’s stealth capabilities give it a clear advantage over the Su-35 Flankers Russia is flying over Syria, the most advanced fighter Moscow has deployed in the region. Consequently, according to a senior U.S. military official cited by Al-Monitor, the Russians have “stopped being quite as provocative” since the Raptor’s arrival.
The deployment of American air and naval assets to deter rivals like Iran and Russia are certainly nothing new in the volatile and unpredictable region. F-22s were previously deployed to the United Arab Emirates in early 2022 following unprecedented missile and drone attacks against Abu Dhabi by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. What’s notable about these deployments is the fact they come mere months after the U.S. announced the advanced combat aircraft it had deployed in the region were needed in Europe and the Pacific.
In March, Washington sought to reassure local partners that the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes being sent to replace them would adequately bolster regional security and deterrence. Even though those A-10s underwent upgrades to carry Small Diameter Bombs, they clearly could not substitute the crucial roles played by fast jets. Furthermore, the fact the U.S. Air Force has repeatedly affirmed it wants to retire all A-10s by the end of the decade, if not earlier, could not have reassured U.S. allies in the region.
(Still, those A-10s will now likely play an important role in deterring Iran in the Gulf when paired with those F-35s and F-16s arriving in the region.)
In light of the Ukraine war and tensions with China, America aims to markedly reduce its military commitment to the Middle East. It seeks something resembling the “pre-1990” status quo — before it sent over 500,000 troops to confront Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and his million-man army after he invaded Kuwait and ended up retaining armed forces in the region for the next 33 years.
(In the years leading up to that unprecedented deployment, the U.S. military proved capable of dispatching substantial force in the Gulf region and working in concert with regional allies. For example, the U.S. Navy’s 1987-88 deployment to escort reflagged oil tankers and ensuing skirmishes with the Iranian Navy that it decisively won.)
These latest deployments do not necessarily indicate the U.S. cannot return to something resembling that status quo. Instead, they show Washington is still capable of rapidly deploying some of its most advanced military hardware to the region on short notice to put its rivals on notice.
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