Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he has directed “the deployment of additional capabilities” to the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
“Protecting US forces is our top priority and these deployments are intended to enhance our defensive posture in the region,” Hegseth said in a post on social platform X.
He did not name the additional capabilities, though earlier on Monday a U.S. official confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that the U.S. military has moved a large number of refueling tanker aircraft to Europe.
The move is intended to “provide options” to Trump amid the escalating tensions, the official added.
Pentagon and White House officials have declined to say how many aircraft have been moved, but the flight tracking website AirNav Systems counted more than 31 Air Force refueling aircraft such as KC-135s and KC-46s leaving the United States on Sunday and flying east. The military flights eventually landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and in the United Kingdom, Estonia and Greece, according to the website.
A Defense official also confirmed to The Hill that Hegseth directed the USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group be sent to the Middle East “to sustain our defensive posture and safeguard American personnel.”
Multiple outlets have reported that the action was a pre-planned deployment that had been expedited. The vessel is able to hold some 5,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, including fighter jets.
U.S. European Command also deployed two destroyers to the eastern Mediterranean Sea on Friday. The vessels can help defend against guided missile strikes.
The Navy “continues to conduct operations in the Eastern Mediterranean in support of U.S. national security objectives,” the official said.
Hellbound and Down 