Twelve U.S. Air Force F-22A Raptor stealth fighters landed at RAF Lakenheath, UK, on their way to the Middle East, where they are deploying in preparation for a potential Iranian attack on Israel.
Twelve F-22A Raptor stealth fighters, sporting the distinctive “AK” tailcode of the 3rd Wing from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, have landed on the evening of Aug. 6, 2024, at RAF Lakenheath, UK. The Aviationist‘s contributor Stewart Jack captured some photos of their arrival, which you can see here.
The fighters, belonging to the 90th Fighter Squadron, were equipped with external fuel tanks for the long intercontinental journey. They arrived at Lakenheath in two groups of six planes each, flying with the TRENDxx callsign and separated by roughly one hour.
6x F-22 Raptors as #TREND71 landing at RAF Lakenheath pic.twitter.com/sFQKGoQlCn
— Biggsy (@BiggsyTV) August 6, 2024
The Raptors were escorted by six KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, flying with the GOLDxx callsign. Four of the tankers belong to the 22d Air Refueling Wing, stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, and the other two come from the 305th Air Mobility Wing, based at the McGuire AFB, New Jersey. Two KC-10 from Travis AFB, California, assigned to the 349th AMW and 60th AMW, were also involved, although they did not arrive in Europe.
The situation
Amid growing threats from Iran against Israel and against American forces, including strikes from Iranian-backed militias that targeted American troops in Iraq, the United States are augmenting their forces in the Middle East to act as a deterrent. The twelve Raptors are being flow in the area in addition to the aircraft already deployed, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier and the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group.
A dozen F/A-18E Super Hornets and an E-2D Hawkeye from the USS Roosevelt were deployed to an undisclosed regional partner base. According to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the land deployment of these Navy aircraft is temporary and will last until the F-22s arrive to the same location.
Twelve “AK” F-22 Raptors as #TREND71 & #TREND81 flt are en route to RAF Lakenheath from Elmendorf AFB, air spares #TREND77 & #TREND87 returned to PAED.
Supporting them on ALTRV Coronet East 073 are KC-10A/KC-46A #GOLD21-24 and #GOLD31-34. pic.twitter.com/wAcxYm8fJx
— EISNspotter🇮🇪 (@EISNspotter) August 6, 2024
Photos released on the DVIDS network show the Super Hornets landing at the undisclosed location with a payload of eight, possibly nine, air-to-air missiles. The aircraft, belonging to Strike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25) “Fist of the Fleet”, will be assigned to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, according to the captions.
The full extent of the U.S. deployment to the Middle East it’s not clear and we don’t know if further combat aircraft will be deployed, however the situation has created unusual traffic above Europe and the Middle East. Fon an instance, some of the Israeli Boeing 707s and Nahshon could be tracked online as the surveillance intensifies while waiting for the possible attack.
A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet lands at an undisclosed location in Central Command area of responsibility on Aug. 3.
This aircraft is armed with at least eight air-to-air missiles and is assigned to VFA-25 from aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). pic.twitter.com/u8qa2KAQj0
— Ryan Chan 陳家翹 (@ryankakiuchan) August 7, 2024
While there are attempts to de-escalate the situation, both sides are still continuing with their rhetoric, showing no willingness to back up on their plans.
“Tehran has the right to discipline the Zionist entity, deter it, and stop its crimes,” said the acting Iranian Foreign Minister, Bagheri Kani. “We cannot remain idle; we will defend our security, the security of our friends, and our region.”
On the other hand, Israel is vowing its own retaliation against any incoming attack from Iran and its proxies.
“Iran and its minions are looking to surround us in a stranglehold of terrorism,” said on X the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “We are determined to stand against them on every front and in every arena – near and far. Whoever seeks to harm us will pay a very heavy price.”
The F-22A Raptor
The Raptors, being advanced and extremely capable air-superiority fighters, are usually based in the United States and deployed overseas more sparingly than other planes, often reaching areas of high tension and acting as a deterrent. While overseas, the F-22s usually escorted American and Allied assets, deterring Iranian fighters on many occasions, and also provided close air support and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) for American troops in Syria.
First introduced in service in Dec. 2005, the Raptors had to wait until Feb. 4, 2023, to score their first air-to-air kill. In that occasion, an F-22, assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina. The deployment of the Raptor to the Middle East now could result in the type’s first combat air-to-air kills.
Awesome video from a few minutes ago. Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptors into RAF Lakenheath. pic.twitter.com/kPOXQY18vg
— redandblackattack (@redanblacattack) August 6, 2024
Previously, the F-15Es contributed to the air defense of Israel in the night between Apr. 13 and 14, 2024, when 170 one-way “kamikaze” drones, 120 Medium-Range Ballistic Missiles, and 30 Land-Attack Cruise Missiles were fired towards Israel during an unprecedented attack launched by Iran alongside Houthi terrorist group in Yemen as well as Iranian-backed proxies in Iraq.
Similarly, the Raptor can be an invaluable tool to stop a new Iranian attack and, on top of all its advanced capabilities, it can still bring to the fight eight air-to-air missiles, the same payload of the F-15E. The Alaskan F-22s are also a mix of Block 30 and Block 40 jets, with the latter being the most advanced Raptors currently in service.
