Six United States Air Force aerial refueling tankers departed Ben Gurion International Airport Thursday morning.
TEL AVIV – The departure of the tanker fleet—comprising both KC-46 Pegasus and KC-135 Stratotankers—comes as the conflict, codenamed Operation Epic Fury by Washington and Operation Roaring Lion by Jerusalem, enters its second week.
Military analysts suggest the synchronized departure of these six aircraft is designed to create a “tanker bridge” over the Eastern Mediterranean and Northern Iraq. This infrastructure allows U.S. and Israeli strike packages, including F-22 Raptors forward-deployed at Ovda Air Base and F-35 Lightnings, to reach deep-interior targets in Iran with maximum ordinance.
According to sources, the tankers are heading east to support a “second massive air assault” recently announced by the Pentagon.
Tehran has retaliated with a barrage of over 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones, some of which triggered sirens in Tel Aviv earlier today. While many were intercepted by the Iron Dome and NATO-led Aegis systems, the region remains in a state of high alert.
