U.S. Deploying Stealth Fighter Fleet to Middle East: Will They Take Down Iran’s Air Defences?

The U.S. Air Force is currently redeploying <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/custom-built-specifically-war-iran-modified-israel-f35i" >F-35A fifth generation fighters </a>to the Middle East on a significant scale, responding to Israel’s large scale air assault on Iran on June 13, and the subsequent <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iranian-revolutionary-guards-success-turning-israeli-air-defences" >exchange of air and missile strikes</a> between the two countries. Following confirmation on June 16 that the Air Force was <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/us-forward-deploys-dozens-aerial-tankers-iran" >redeploying a large fleet </a>of KC-135 and KC-46 tankers across the Atlantic, which reports indicate numbered over two dozen, American tankers are now confirmed to be ferrying significant numbers of fighters to the region. While footage from the United Kingdom have confirmed that F-35s are being deployed to the Middle East, there have been indications that the U.S. Air Force’s second class of fifth generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, has also been dispatched. As three unnamed U.S. officials speaking to Reuters confirmed the deployment of more fighters to the Middle East, and the extending of deployments of military aircraft already in the region, one official stated that deployments include F-35s, older F-16s, as well as F-22s. The deployments follow a statement by U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth that he had “directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility,” adding that “protecting U.S. forces is our top priority, and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region.”<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/18/article_68520dffae7de6_59956058.png" title="U.S. Air Force F-35A Heading South From RAF Lakenheath with Tanker Support">The United States is already extensively involved in the Iranian-Israeli conflict, providing not only intelligence, targeting data and armaments to the Israel Defence Forces, but also deploying <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/how-effective-is-thaad-in-defending-israel-against-iranian-missile-strikes" >U.S. Army THAAD</a> air defence systems and <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usnavy-replenish-destroyer-missile-stocks" >AEGIS destroyers</a> to support efforts to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles. Unconfirmed reports indicate that American fighters have also supported efforts to intercept Iranian drones, <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/f15e-strike-eagles-drone-israel-dangerous" >as they did </a>during previous less intensive exchanges between Iran and Israel in April and October 2024. The Israeli Air Force has also reportedly depended heavily on aerial refuelling support from multiple NATO members including the United States and Germany to allow its fighters to reach Iranian targets. Israel and many of Washington’s European allies have nevertheless continued to call for greater American involvement, with the much larger American air fleet, and its deployment of many unique assets such as strategic bombers, having the potential to tip the tide of the war against Iran’s favour. The advanced capabilities of the Iranian ballistic missile arsenal, however, which places American bases across the Middle East and Eastern Europe in the crosshairs, remains a potent deterrent.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/06/18/article_68520c42482f91_27370456.jpg" title="Surface-to-Air Missile Battery From Iranian Bavar 373 Long Range Air Defence System " > The <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/poor-deterrent-iran-fleet-300-fighters-equipped-stop-israel" >very limited capabilities</a> of the Iranian Air Force’s own fighter fleet mean that the primary challenge to adversaries’ efforts to control its airspace come from its extensive network of ground-based air defence systems, which has demonstrated the <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" >ability to neutralise</a> very high value aircraft in the past including stealth platforms, and which Iranian sources have reported have <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/iran-shoots-down-third-f35-captures-second-pilot" >shot down three</a> Israeli Air Force<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/custom-built-specifically-war-iran-modified-israel-f35i" > F-35s </a>during a penetration mission. U.S. Air Force F-35s could prove to be an optimal asset against this network, with the fighters being well optimised for air defence suppression missions due to their stealth and electronic intelligence capabilities. The fighters are nevertheless hindered by their lack of anti-radiation missiles, which are optimal for air defence suppression operations, due to delays developing a suitable missile that can be accommodated in the F-35’s weapons bay.&nbsp;The F-22 is much less capable in air-to-surface roles, and lacks the advanced sensors or electronic intelligence capabilities of the F-35, while having a more limited range and being unable to carry high diameter ordinance.&nbsp;