Avi Scharf – Haaretz Oct 23, 2023

The continued deployment of American forces and equipment in the Middle East is showing no signs of letting up. Over the past two weeks, close to 80 cargo U.S. military planes have landed in the region, in addition to dozens of civilian aircraft retained by the U.S. and Israeli defense establishments.

Figures reported by Haaretz show that as of Sunday night, 62 Israeli and American transport planes had landed in Israel as part of the special airlift. Most of them are civilian aircraft leased to carry weapons and spare parts.

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One of the planes has already flown back and forth four times to America’s Dover Air Force Base, carrying back what the Israeli Defense Ministry has said over X, formerly Twitter, are advanced U.S. armaments. More military gear is being brought on other 747 jets to Israel’s Ramon Airport outside Eilat.

Open-source information reveals even larger numbers of U.S. military transport aircraft being used to deploy troops, equipment and armaments throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. They show that eight heavy-cargo planes that took off from supply depots in the United States and Europe have landed at a Jordanian base. Two U.S. fighter squadrons of F-15E fighter-bombers and A-10 attack planes have also been deployed at the base, as have Florida-based special forces.

Seven other planes landed in Amman, but these were apparently logistics flights connected with U.S. President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Jordan, which ultimately did not take place.

Meanwhile, The U.S. has in recent days delivered large amounts of equipment and arms to the British Air Force base in Cyprus: About 20 heavy-transport aircraft have landed there in a very short period with cargo from strategic depots belonging to the U.S. and NATO in Europe.

Since the fighting broke out, more than 30 U.S. military heavy-transport planes have landed in Israel. Most of the flights, it appears, have been to carry officials (U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla and Biden’s support staff) and logistical equipment. However, about half of the planes were employed in delivering military aid.

According to Defense Ministry tweets, planes landing at Nevatim Air Force Base delivered arms for the Israel Defense Forces, while those landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport were carrying, among other things, armored vehicles.

In addition to the U.S. deliveries, Israeli Air Force Hercules transport aircraft are adding to the effort. Open-source information reveals they have flown numerous times to various destinations in Europe. Defense Ministry and IDF tweets show they were used to fly back reservists and protective equipment from Athens.

Off Southwestern Cyprus, the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group continues to operate, counting about 80 attack, electronic warfare and intelligence aircraft and several ships armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles. One of those, the U.S.S. Carney, was stationed in the Red Sea last week and intercepted multiple projectiles launched from Yemen at Israel.

The carrier strike group brings with it an advanced air defense system, which is being integrated with Israel’s multi-layered interception system. In addition, on Sunday, the U.S. announced it was deploying a THAAD battery to intercept ballistic missiles and additional Patriot missile systems to the region.

Several days ago, a second carrier group, led by the Dwight D. Eisenhower, set sail from the U.S. It is expected to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar and enter the Mediterranean Sea by next weekend. However, it remains unclear whether it will remain in the area or continue through the Suez Canal and anchor in the Arabian Sea, or perhaps the Persian Gulf.

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