U.S. Deploys Top Stealth Fighter Squadrons to Israeli Airbases as Iran Tensions Escalate

By James Morley III | Thursday, February 26, 2026

American F-22 stealth fighter jets have been deployed to an Israeli air force base in southern Israel.

The move marks a rare deployment of advanced U.S. combat aircraft in Israel as Washington increases its military posture amid tensions with Iran.

The F-22s had been stationed at Royal Air Force Lakenheath in the United Kingdom before open-source flight-tracking data showed a dozen aircraft departing for the Middle East, with one reportedly returning due to a technical issue.

The fifth-generation fighters are considered among the world’s most advanced air-superiority jets, designed for stealth, speed and air-to-air combat.

Their arrival comes as negotiations between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program remain deadlocked. Talks are scheduled to resume Thursday in Geneva, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to present a counterproposal.

Despite the diplomatic track, President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that military action remains on the table if Iran does not agree to limits preventing it from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The Trump administration has maintained that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon or long-range ballistic missiles capable of threatening the United States and its allies.

Officials have framed the growing U.S. force presence in the region as both a deterrent and a contingency measure should diplomacy fail.

Iran has vowed to retaliate against both U.S. forces and Israel in the event of an attack. Israeli officials reportedly believe a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities is increasingly likely, with one senior official stating that a diplomatic breakthrough would be “the surprise of the year.”

Senior military officials from Washington and Jerusalem are in close contact.

“Operating aircraft from Israeli bases is a first,” Dennis Ross, a former senior U.S. official who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, stated on Thursday.

Defense analysts say Israel’s advanced defensive infrastructure makes it an attractive location for high-value American assets.

“If I was going to put a very high value asset somewhere, I totally would want to go for a country that has pretty robust air and missile defense,” said Douglas Birkey, executive director for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

The F-22 deployment is part of what analysts describe as one of the largest U.S. military buildups in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In recent days, dozens of American fighter jets, including F-35s, F-15s, and F-16s, have been tracked heading to the region, along with refueling tankers and cargo aircraft. U.S. refueling and transport aircraft were also spotted at Ben Gurion Airport earlier this week.

On Monday, Trump dismissed reports that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine had expressed reservations about potential military action.