As President Donald Trump considers a major attack on Iran after discussions to limit the country’s nuclear program and ballistic missile production failed to move forward, the U.S. military has accelerated a buildup of military equipment in the Middle East over several weeks, according to open-source data.
This includes near-constant surveillance flights and dozens of C-17 and C-5 military planes transporting cargo to U.S. bases across the region.
The arrival of the Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, now in the northern Arabian Sea, represents the most substantial change in military deployment. The group includes the USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as three guided missile destroyers and the carrier’s air wing, which has squadrons of F/A-18E Super Hornet, F-35C Lightning II fighters and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets.
— USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, and USS Mitscher — in the region, separated from the carrier strike group.
Three littoral combat ships — USS Santa Barbara, USS Canberra and USS Tulsa — based in Bahrain could be called upon for minesweeping missions if Iran decides to employ this type of weaponry.
In recent days, the US has also deployed several air defense systems to the region, including additional Terminal High Altitude Defense (THAAD) systems and Patriot missile systems that appeared at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar last week, seen in a satellite image captured by Planet Labs on January 25.
These systems would be critical to countering retaliatory missile attacks if Iran responds to an attack targeting U.S. military assets or American allies in the region.
The equipment buildup comes as Trump has repeatedly threatened military action, saying on Wednesday that if Iran does not agree to a deal, “the next attack will be much worse” than the bombing of nuclear facilities in June.
“As in the case of Venezuela, it is ready, willing and able to quickly accomplish its mission, with speed and violence if necessary,” Trump said of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The guided-missile destroyers sailing with the carrier and in other areas of the region offer significant strike potential. Each can carry dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a range of around 1,600 kilometers and a conventional warhead weighing approximately 450 kilograms.
Additionally, U.S. Navy carrier strike groups typically operate with an attack submarine that can also launch Tomahawks, but the presence of these submarines is almost never publicized.
While the aircraft carrier provides a floating base for military operations, the US maintains several permanent installations in the region where other aircraft have also moved.
An E-11A jet arrived Thursday at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of the last critical assets needed for the U.S. to coordinate complex operations. The converted business jet acts as a high-altitude communications relay system, transmitting data to support air or ground forces.
On the same day, a modified cargo plane designed for combat search and rescue operations arrived at the theater of operations. A squadron of F-15E Strike Eagle fighters, capable of carrying a variety of guided bombs and air-to-surface missiles, was also recently deployed to the region as part of a planned rotation of forces.
Surveillance flights with US drones and reconnaissance aircraft have been ongoing, patrolling the Persian Gulf. Since Monday, flights have operated at an almost constant pace, departing from American bases in Qatar, Bahrain and even outside the Middle East.
Variants of the RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft have also arrived in the region, capable of detecting radioactive debris and interpreting electromagnetic signals.
On Thursday, at least eight tankers used to refuel military fighters in flight crossed the Atlantic and landed at Morón Air Base in southern Spain. During the flights, several of these planes transmitted messages suggesting they were supporting at least seven other smaller aircraft in the transatlantic crossing, possibly equipped for electronic warfare or fighter missions.
An F-35 operations center was specifically cited in messages transmitted Thursday night to two of those tankers and recorded on the flight tracking dashboard tbg.airframes.io, indicating that fifth-generation fighters were crossing the Atlantic.
Both tankers mentioned in the messages took off from Homestead Air Force Base in Florida, near where the U.S. had deployed F-35 planes to Puerto Rico as part of Operation Southern Spear, the Trump administration’s campaign to target suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Less than two hours after sending the messages, six F-35s landed at Lajes Air Base in Portugal, according to aircraft observer Andre Inacio, who photographed them. THE CNN independently confirmed the geolocation of the images.
And this week, as tensions rise, the Air Force held a multi-day exercise in the region aimed at demonstrating its ability to “deploy, disperse and sustain combat power” across the Middle East, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday.
It is unclear what other assets from different parts of the world could be used in an eventual operation, given the US Air Force’s extensive network of air tankers. In June 2025, seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flew a 37-hour mission from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, to Iran.
Also used in last June’s attack on Iranian nuclear sites was a submarine with guided missiles. The U.S. Navy has four Ohio-class guided missile submarines — converted ballistic missile submarines whose locations are kept secret — capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk missiles.
