Arabi
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
- Messages
- 913
- Reaction score
- -2
- Country
- Location
The fighter jets join other F-15s, as well as B-52s and F-35s, already in the Middle East and the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group will soon arrive, too.
The U.S. Air Force has deployed a contingent of F-15C Eagle fighter jets to the Middle East, sending them on their way carrying live missiles. This follows the arrival of four B-52H Stratofortress bombers and the early appearance in the Persian Gulf of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group, all ostensibly in response to still largely unclarified threats to American forces in the region from Iran and its proxies.
On May 9, 2018, Air Forces Central Command announced the arrival of the F-15Cs, which had occurred the day before, but offered few details, simply releasing photos showing two Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom taxing at an "undisclosed location" in Southwest Asia. One of the planes in the carried the name Deadpool, a reference to the Marvel Comics anti-hero, while the other had the nickname "Starscream" and the logo of the Decepticons, the villains of Transformers franchise, which involves sentient robots that can transform into various vehicles and aircraft. Starscream originally had the ability to transform into the likeness of an F-15. It is unclear how many Eagles the Air Force has deployed to the Middle East or may be planning to send in the near future.
The released pictures also showed that the planes were carrying live weapon loads consisting of 6 AIM-120C Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and a pair of AIM-9X Sidewinder close-in dogfighting missiles. They also each carried an AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) on the centerline, which offers a long-range visual identification capability for the F-15C, which you can read about more here.
"U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons enhance regional partnerships and demonstrate a continued commitment to regional security and stability," a caption to one of the photographs read. "These aircraft were moved within the theater to be best positioned to defend U.S. forces and interests in the region."
It is worth noting that in February 2019, the Air Force withdrew a contingent of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates and replaced them with F-15Cs. Two months later, the Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters arrived at that same base marking the first time the service had operationally deployed these stealthy jets to the Middle East, but not as a replacement for the Eagles. As with other recent force deployments to the region, it is unclear as yet as to whether the deployment of the additional Eagles had already been scheduled to make a trip to the Middle East well in advance.
Also on May 9, 2019, two additional B-52Hs from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisana arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, bringing the total number of the bombers there to four. The first pair had begun their deployment two days earlier.
more on TheDrive
Will Iran implement its threats and close the Strait of Hormuz and sink American ships?
The U.S. Air Force has deployed a contingent of F-15C Eagle fighter jets to the Middle East, sending them on their way carrying live missiles. This follows the arrival of four B-52H Stratofortress bombers and the early appearance in the Persian Gulf of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and her strike group, all ostensibly in response to still largely unclarified threats to American forces in the region from Iran and its proxies.
On May 9, 2018, Air Forces Central Command announced the arrival of the F-15Cs, which had occurred the day before, but offered few details, simply releasing photos showing two Eagles from the 48th Fighter Wing based at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom taxing at an "undisclosed location" in Southwest Asia. One of the planes in the carried the name Deadpool, a reference to the Marvel Comics anti-hero, while the other had the nickname "Starscream" and the logo of the Decepticons, the villains of Transformers franchise, which involves sentient robots that can transform into various vehicles and aircraft. Starscream originally had the ability to transform into the likeness of an F-15. It is unclear how many Eagles the Air Force has deployed to the Middle East or may be planning to send in the near future.
The released pictures also showed that the planes were carrying live weapon loads consisting of 6 AIM-120C Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and a pair of AIM-9X Sidewinder close-in dogfighting missiles. They also each carried an AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) on the centerline, which offers a long-range visual identification capability for the F-15C, which you can read about more here.
"U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons enhance regional partnerships and demonstrate a continued commitment to regional security and stability," a caption to one of the photographs read. "These aircraft were moved within the theater to be best positioned to defend U.S. forces and interests in the region."
It is worth noting that in February 2019, the Air Force withdrew a contingent of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters from Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates and replaced them with F-15Cs. Two months later, the Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters arrived at that same base marking the first time the service had operationally deployed these stealthy jets to the Middle East, but not as a replacement for the Eagles. As with other recent force deployments to the region, it is unclear as yet as to whether the deployment of the additional Eagles had already been scheduled to make a trip to the Middle East well in advance.
Also on May 9, 2019, two additional B-52Hs from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisana arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, bringing the total number of the bombers there to four. The first pair had begun their deployment two days earlier.
more on TheDrive
Will Iran implement its threats and close the Strait of Hormuz and sink American ships?
just shows how inept the Arabs have become and how little confidence they have in themselves.
