The Pentagon is sending high-end F-35 fighter jets and a Navy destroyer to the Middle East to fend off increasingly aggressive maneuvers by Russian pilots over Syria and to deter a recent spate of attempted seizures of commercial fuel tankers by Iran.
The deployment of the F-35s follows the arrival of stealth F-22s to Jordan from Europe last month on a short-term rotation to ward off Russian pilots’ maneuvers.
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced the F-35 deployment on Monday, saying some of the aircraft may already be en route, but did not say how long they would remain in the region.
Late last week, a US Navy guided-missile destroyer — the USS Thomas Hudner — arrived at the Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain after passing through the Suez Canal.
