Air Force goes all in on use of Europe-based fighter wings to give support in Middle East

The Pentagon is relying heavily on Europe-based fighter crews as tensions escalate in the Middle East following the collapse of a temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

Only three fighter wings are permanently assigned to U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and all three have apparently been tapped to deploy combat jets to the region within the past week, according to media reports and public flight-tracking data.

The list includes F-16s from Germany and Italy, F-35s and F-15Es based in the United Kingdom and accompanying aerial tanker support from Europe.

A defense official on Tuesday declined to discuss troop movements or numbers, citing operational security.

Warplanes began hastening to the Middle East after an interim deal to end military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz fell apart July 8. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire over following significant attacks by both sides.

Three F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, fly in formation on Aug. 18, 2025. All three of the Air Force's fighter wings in Europe, including the 31st, have deployed aircraft to the Middle East within recent days. (Zachary Jakel/U.S. Air Force)

CENTCOM said late Tuesday that it had completed 11 consecutive evenings of strikes against Iran, including attacks on Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure.

Among the combat forces at CENTCOM’s disposal are F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 480th Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, and F-35 Lightning II jets from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in England, according to reporting from Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Italian news outlets and ItaMilRadar reported Saturday that F-16 Fighting Falcons, likely from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base in northern Italy, traversed the eastern Mediterranean.

ItaMilRadar, an open-source intelligence project focused on monitoring and analyzing military aviation activity over Italy, also tracked a group of F-15E Strike Eagles headed to the Middle East from RAF Lakenheath. The aircraft were supported by KC-135R Stratotankers operating from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base in southern France.

The significant contribution of combat power from all three Air Force wings in Europe is unusual, said David Deptula, a retired Air Force lieutenant general and dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

“Whether this precise combination of deployments is technically unprecedented would require a detailed review of USAFE deployment records,” Deptula said Tuesday, adding that it is “operationally significant.”

But tapping all three wings for combat support in the current fight with Iran, even though it leaves commanders with fewer options to respond rapidly if Russia attempts to exploit the situation, is hardly a surprise, he said.

He noted that at the end of the Cold War, USAFE had nine fighter wings with more than 600 aircraft.

“This is not simply a European basing issue,” he said. “It reflects the dramatic decline of the U.S. Air Force as a whole.

“We have reached the point where sustaining even one small-scale contingency can require drawing heavily on forces assigned to other critical missions,” he said.