The US and Iran have ramped up their strikes following the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement signed a month ago, heightening fears of a full-scale war. Notably, Israel has not participated in the recent US strikes.
The military official indicated that the US had “chosen to modify its force posture in the region” and “to augment the current fleet of aerial refuelling aircraft stationed in Israel with more refuelling aircraft.”
Another senior Israeli official mentioned that numerous US refuelling planes are anticipated to arrive in Israel.
The US Embassy in Jerusalem did not respond immediately for comment. Since the conflict began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28, the United States has deployed several refuelling aircraft in Israel.
The Israeli military official noted that to reduce interference with civilian air traffic, and based on operational and logistical needs, the US “opted to station some refuelling aircraft at Israeli Air Force bases,” as well as at commercial airports.
In May, Sharon Kedmi, the director general of the authority, mentioned that 70% of the operations at Ben Gurion — Israel’s main air hub — were constrained due to the space and resources occupied by U.S. military activities. Following this, the US agreed to relocate some aircraft to Israeli Air Force bases, as reported by a spokesperson for Transport Minister Miri Regev.
By June 25, the spokesperson noted there were a total of 98 US military aircraft in Israel.
