U.S. Deploys 12 F-25A Stealth Fighters to Jordan Amid Middle East Tensions
The U.S. Air Force is deploying 12 F-35A stealth fighters from the Vermont Air National Guard to Jordan's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, significantly boosting regional airpower amid soaring tensions and indirect nuclear talks with Iran.
The U.S. Air Force is deploying up to 12 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters to Jordan as part of an ongoing military buildup in the Middle East, according to flight tracking data and open-source intelligence reports.
Six F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing arrived at RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom in recent days and are expected to continue to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan this week. A second group of six aircraft from the same unit previously deployed to the region via Puerto Rico and the Azores.
The deployment adds advanced stealth capability to the U.S. presence at Muwaffaq Salti, which already hosts F-15E Strike Eagles, A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft and Patriot air defense systems. The base is located roughly 800 to 900 kilometers from Iran's western border and is positioned for operations over Syria and Iraq.
The reinforcement comes amid heightened tensions in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which includes F-35C fighters, is currently deployed to the area. Indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks recently took place in Oman.
Jordan has emerged as a key U.S. military hub, with defense officials viewing the location as more defensible than some Gulf bases within closer range of Iranian missiles. Jordan is a close U.S. partner in the region.
The Pentagon has not issued an official announcement about the deployment, which follows standard practice for routine force rotations. The movement has been tracked through publicly available flight data and reports from defense monitoring accounts.