Combat Aircraft – September 2019

As the US military builds an

impressive air armada in and

around the Middle East, Combat

Aircraft assesses the air power

assets that are on hand for

President Trump.

REPORT Jamie Hunter

T

HE US MILITARY has made

no secret of the increased air

power presence it has been

amassing in the Persian Gulf

region in recent months. The

US has been at the center of

steadily increasing tensions with Iran,

blaming Tehran for attacks on oil tankers

in May and June. Iranian missile batteries

controversially downed a US Navy

RQ-4A Broad Area Maritime Surveillance

— Demonstration (BAMS-D) unmanned

air system while operating over the

Strait of Hormuz on June 19. The Iranian

Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said

it had  red upon the surveillance drone

over Iranian airspace. On July 11, the

Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose came

to the aid of a British oil tanker in the

Persian Gulf that was being threatened

by Iranian boats. CAPT Bill Urban, lead

spokesman for US Central Command

(CENTCOM) said in a media release:

‘We are aware of the reports of Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy’s

harassment and attempts to interfere

with the passage of the UK- agged

merchant vessel British Heritage today

near the Strait of Hormuz. Threats to

international freedom of navigation

require an international solution. The

world economy depends on the free

 ow of commerce, and it is incumbent

on all nations to protect and preserve

this lynchpin of global prosperity.’

Regional stability

While President Trump reportedly rowed

back from limited retaliatory air strikes

on June 20 over the RQ-4 shoot-down,

the deterrent surrounding the expanded

military presence in the region is designed

as a clear message to encourage Iran to fall

back into line.

CENTCOM has been at the heart of the

campaign against the so-called Islamic

State (IS) since August 2014, and continues

to tackle remaining pockets of  ghters.

Coupled with a resurgence in demand for

air power support in Afghanistan under

Operation ‘Freedom’s Sentinel’ and the

Left: A 335th

Expeditionary

Fighter Squadron

(EFS) ‘Chiefs’

F-15E over Iraq

in June. The

Seymour Johnson

front-line units

are shouldering

the current OIR

deployments.

USAF/SSgt Keifer

Bowes

Bottom left to

right: Brig Gen

Lance Pilch is

the new 380th

Air Expeditionary

Wing commander

at Al Dhafra.

USAF/SSgt Chris

Thornbury

CENTCOM

released

imagery of two

F-35As that

fl ew Operation

‘Inherent Resolve’

missions in full

external loadout

in May. The

aircraft carried

six GBU-49s, a

pair of AIM-120

AMRAAMs and

two AIM-9X

Sidewinders. USAF

http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2019 25

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