A surge in US military air activity across Europe and the Middle East is being described as the most significant movement of American aircraft in decades during a period of heightened tensions with Iran.
Jon, a senior editor at the UK Defence Journal, compiled a series of flight tracking summaries on 17 February using publicly available data, stating that the “largest US build-up of kit since the Gulf Wars is now fully underway.”
Final Update for 17/02/2026 #FreeIran
Right, I’ve tried to compile the KEY movements we’ve seen in the last 48hrs into a couple of info tables. First is yesterday – focusing mainly on F-35s from Lakenheath. The other two are today – F-16s/F-22s/E-3Gs/E-11As and tankers.… pic.twitter.com/1i9nczClVf
— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) February 17, 2026
According to his assessment, the last 48 hours have seen unusually dense activity involving US fighter aircraft and high-value enablers, with the movements grouped into two main phases. The first, he said, focused largely on F-35 activity linked to RAF Lakenheath, while the second phase involved a broader mix of aircraft types including F-16s, F-22s, E-3 Sentry airborne early warning aircraft, E-11A battlefield communications aircraft, and multiple aerial refuelling tankers.
In the update, Jon noted the scale of the activity had made it difficult to compile a complete picture in one sitting, writing: “Missing data will be identified and filled in in the coming days, there has simply been too much for me to compile in one go today, but this paints a fairly good picture.”
The movements come as the wider region is seeing a higher tempo of US deployments than usual, with reporting this week indicating a major naval concentration planned, including two aircraft carriers, escort ships and additional supporting assets. While individual aircraft movements are, obviously, not officially linked to specific operations, the volume of transits and the mix of combat and support aircraft suggest a sustained surge posture rather than routine training activity.
Jon concluded that the pace of activity is likely to continue, adding: “The rest of this week will be very busy.”
I wonder how the US thinks it would be moving all those aircraft to the Middle East without European support. Second time in a month it has needed European basing to enable operations outside of the continental United States.
I distinctly remember Stephen Mills’s saying a month ago the USA is a super power and doesn’t need any Allie’s
Clown 😂
The European Allies can refuse US permission to use its bases anytime it wants. Go ahead, Starmer, tell Trump he can’t use UK bases to bomb Iran. The world waits.
Who is Stephen Mills?
The US doesn’t need Allie’s, it just needs bases
🫡🇺🇸😂
If the us doesn’t need allies, just bases can you explain how the us is going to continue using bases in Europe and elsewhere without allies??
I have zero sympathy for the CRINK regimes and Iran is probably the worst. If Trump knocks the Iranian regime out for a decade and Russia is pinned down in Ukraine until it is forced to withdraw, the chances of worldwide existential war significantly declines.
Yes, every time we bomb a Middle East country and take out a regime it works out really well.
I seem to remember Trump running on a platform about five minutes ago stating to never again do this. Now the Trump-Epstein files are being released he seems to have changed his tune and he is all for regime change.
Dropping a load of bombs isn’t going to result in anything other than bad things for Europe. Best case mass refugee crisis, worst case is terrorist attacks. Highly unlikely to result in a more moderate regime, far more likely to result in giving an even more hard-line one excuses to align the country against the west.
clearly haven’t paid attention to lessons of the past.
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
Appeasement is worse. The lesson is bad stuff is going to happen either way. It’s decades too late to avoid it. All we get is the choice between two evils.
Not really, if trump hadn’t pulled the US out of the nuclear deal, just because it was promised by Obama, we could possibly now have had a more cooperative less aggressive Iran. It’s not too late to go back to the table and negotiate it again.
I’m still holding out hope that this is the plan, massive build up to make trump look like the big man and then a deal that looks very much like the last one, but which trump can say is totally different and wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for his amazingness. Honestly let’s feed his ego if it avoids terror attacks across europe and the UK.
as Steve said it is Trump that ripped up the nuclear deal
bomb and then what? let ISIS & Co. get their hands on the centrifuges, etc…?
The us has a track record of overthrowing regimes around the world, but they also have a track record of leaving a mess behind, Iraq and Libya both being cases in point. So if the Orange Messiah gets his way and overthrows the Regime in Iran, then what?? are they going to walk away and leave the locals to clean up the mess??
Having a local, non mullah, government would allow removal of US sanctions to become a regular middle east petro-state that doesn’t need to run a shadow fleet of tankers that endanger crews, ports, oceans, hydrocarbon industry and enables the RF terrorist state to do likewise. So a big win in geopolitics.
Especially for someone who thinks they’re the President of Venezuela…
Having religious nuts in charge of the economy has resulted in decades of disasters. It is always better for normal, non religious qpeople to command the economy.
Having rational fact not faith led people managing the US or Iranian economy would be good. However the pure economic view has led to oligarchy with no room in the middle for the great majority to make a decent living, being decent people.
So values do matter, much more than the concentration of capital in 0.1% ,the billionaires.
I see no theocracy or dictatorship that has found a reasonable balance, to date, so conclude that they’re not likely to…
That’s what Chump is doing in the USA !!
Overthrow the democratic regime, and leave a mess behind.
While i agree our efforts at regime change in the past has been a cluster, I think if it was Obama doing this shit there would be less grumpy opposition, and the negative comments is more to do with the dislike of the orange man! For me, taking out the Iranian crazy clowns is a good thing, but it will, as ever, open the door for more crazies! When will it ever end!
It’s the end of that statement that is the issue. Taking out the regime without a plan for what next isn’t a good option. It neither helps the population of that country nor world peace
No arguements they need to go, but it has to be done the right way.
That was the main lesson to be learned from the Iraqi war since its the following peace that matters most.
Political solutions matter more than military operations, which is obviously an unwelcome reality for USA DoD and those who direct it..
Trump is a overly simplicistic solution to complex problems type of guy and why all his peace deals with Ukraine have failed. His also taking Venezuela as a template, even though the regime didn’t change and the people there are no better off, he got his oil and the guy he didn’t like, thats all he wanted.
Indeed. More concerning is the extraordinary rendition of a citizen of a sovereign nation which contravenes the United Nations Charter, Articles 1 & 2 that the United States was a founder member of.
Not understanding sovereignty and legal jurisdiction is government 101 incompetence and evidence of unfitness to serve in public office.
Sanction enforcement is reasonable and legal within international law but using US Forces at taxpayers expense then selling cargo for personal profit outside US Treasury control is corruption and another breach of his oath to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.
One day that corruption will have consequences, but not while Congress is complicit in that..
The key point is the attempted transition from the international rule of law (UN Charter etc) to the regressive Might Is Right approach (MAGA) for three spheres of influence where USA rules all the Americas, USSR 2.0 and CCP make up Eurasia and IndoPacific, respectively.
Straight 1984 Orwell from 2026 onwards, so the opposite of Democracy. Clearly unacceptable. Time to defend the Republic against enemies foreign and domestic…