Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Matthew Seefeldt)
The United States military has withdrawn dozens of aerial refueling aircraft from Israel, according to satellite images released on July 6.
The images from the European Union’s Sentinel-2 satellite revealed that the U.S. military has withdrawn at least 32 aerial regluing aircraft from Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel by earlier July. Roughly 60 to 70 KC-135 Stratotanker and Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aircraft were deployed there the month prior.
Up to 16 additional American aerial refueling aircraft were deployed at Ramon Airport in southern Israel last month. It is still unclear if any of these has been withdrawn.
The move marked a notable de-escalation by the U.S., which committed under the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran last month not to expand its military deployment in the Middle East as talks on a comprehensive agreement to end the war take place.
While the partial withdrawal have a direct impact on the operational readiness of the U.S. military in the region, the aerial refueling aircraft may have been pulled out for maintenance, or even as a part of a rotation of assets.
In the long term, U.S. military deployment in Israel is expected to increase. Reports from last month revealed that Washington is weighing whether to shift some military operations away from vulnerable Persian Gulf bases after Iranian strikes. One report by the Wall Street Journal said that American bases could move to Israel.
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