Additional U.S. military assets are reported to be flowing into the Southwest Asia region. The guided missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black has just arrived in the region, a Navy official told The War Zone. In addition, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V Rivet Joint electronic surveillance plane has flown to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, according to online flight trackers. Air Force combat search and rescue aircraft have also been reported moving toward the region.
Flight trackers also showed that an E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) jet, a highly specialized network communications aircraft, was heading to Souda Air Base in Crete, a common route for deployments to the Middle East. Where it goes from there is not known, but a move to the Middle East ahead of a potential conflict makes sense.
There are also reports that a half-dozen U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft are also on their way to the region from the U.S., though this also not confirmed.
However, despite these movements, “there has still been no mass influx of USAF tactical airpower into the Middle East,” TWZ says. “This is something we would likely see if the U.S. intends to execute a sustained campaign, even if limited in scope, against Iran. This points to a more limited operation, unless Israel steps in to provide its tactical fighter force in a joint operation. It’s also very possible that these assets will deploy in the coming days.”
During a cabinet meeting at the White House on Jan. 29, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised President Donald Trump that the U.S. military will be prepared to carry out whatever President Trump decides on Iran, to ensure Tehran does not pursue nuclear weapons capability. With a large U.S. military force gathered in the region, Hegseth was asked by Trump at a cabinet meeting to comment on the situation. “They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be prepared to deliver whatever this President expects of the War Department,” Hegseth said.
