<p >The U.S. Air Force has forward deployed <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/25-f22-maiden-flight-looks-like-failure" target="_blank">F-22 fighters</a> to RAF Lakenheath in the United Kingdom, with the aircraft under the elite 1st Fighter Wing arriving across the Atlantic on June 18 from Joint Base Langley-Eustis in&nbsp;Virginia. The aircraft are expected to be deployed to the Middle East, likely to either Al Dhafra Airbase in the United Arab Emirates, or to Al Udeid Airbase in Qatar, both of which have hosted F-22s in the past. This represents part of a broader large scale redeployment of American military assets including fighters and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-forward-deploys-dozens-aerial-tankers-iran" target="_blank">supporting tankers </a>to be able to support contingencies in the Middle East, in response to Israel’s <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/why-israel-cant-touch-core-iran-nuclear" target="_blank">large scale assault on Iran </a>initiated on June 13. It remains uncertain whether this military buildup is primarily intended to deter Iran or Iranian strategic partners such as Russia from escalating the conflict, or whether the primary purpose is to prepare for a likely American military intervention to support the Israeli war effort. The F-22 is one of just two fifth generation fighters operated by the U.S. or its strategic partners, and is fielded exclusively by the U.S. Air Force in limited numbers. The<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-air-force-f35-orders-cut-50pct-sixth-generation" target="_blank"> newer F-35</a> is fielded by the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as close to 20 foreign services including the Israeli Air Force, with Israel’s fleet of close to 40 F-35s having <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-claims-shootdown-fourth-israeli-f35-deep" target="_blank" >played a central role</a> in its attacks on Iran.&nbsp;</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/20/article_6854ca9772e1d1_32621373.webp" title="U.S. Air Force F-22 Fighters"></p><p >The F-22 was developed from the 1980s as a dedicated air superiority fighter, primarily to counter new generations of Soviet fighters <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/final-gift-from-the-soviets-how-china-received-three-of-the-ussr-s-top-fighters-weeks-before-the-superpower-collapsed" target="_blank">such as the Su-27</a>, which was considered the most capable combat jet of the Cold War era for air-to-air engagements. F-22s continue to lack significant air-to-ground capabilities, and are restricted to carrying much smaller bombs than F-35s or other American fighters, limiting their usefulness in roles other than air-to-air engagements. The fighter’s air-to-air capabilities are themselves considered increasingly out of date, with incremental modernisation of the F-35 having provided it with major advantages, despite the restrictions of its smaller and less manoeuvrable airframe.&nbsp;In spite of its specialisation, the F-22 has not been used for air-to-air combat since its entry into service in 2005, which could make its entry into hostilities with Iran a major landmark in the program’s history. The need for F-22s in the region nevertheless remains in question, with the Iranian Air Force being reliant on ageing <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poor-deterrent-iran-fleet-300-fighters-equipped-stop-israel" target="_blank">Vietnam War era fighters</a> such as the F-4 that all fighters in the U.S. and Israeli inventories retain significant performance advantages over. Reports indicate that Iran’s fighter fleet has provided little opposition to Israeli air operations so far, with its destruction considered far from a priority.&nbsp;With the primary challenges from the Iranian Armed Forces stemming from its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-top-air-defence-bavar373-f35-shootdowns" target="_blank">ground-based air defences</a>, <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/tehrans-stealth-drones-full-implications-of-iran-s-acquisition-of-the-u-s-rq-170-in-the-middle-east-and-beyond" target="_blank">drone fleets</a>, and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-launches-first-strike-isreal-mach-13-fattah-hypersonic" target="_blank" >ballistic missile arsenals</a>, the F-22 is not considered an optimal aircraft to countering any of these kinds of threats.&nbsp;</p>
Skip to content
SurvivalThat is all