Flightradar24: US military transport aircraft fly cargo from Texas to Middle East

US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III military transport aircraft have been transporting cargo to the Middle East from Robert Gray Airfield in Texas, according to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 and ADS-B Exchange.

The airfield supports units including the 62nd Army Air Defense Regiment stationed at nearby Fort Cavazos, where Patriot air-defence systems and THAAD missile-defence systems designed to intercept ballistic threats are based, Caliber.Az reports.

Aviation data show at least six US military flights over the past 48 hours, including multiple sorties to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and one flight to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

The cargo and purpose of the flights have not been publicly disclosed by the US military.

The reported air movements come after US officials said an American aircraft carrier and supporting warships had arrived in the Middle East. According to Reuters, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers have entered the region under the US military’s Central Command.

US President Donald Trump said on Janjuary 22 that the United States had an “armada” heading toward Iran, while adding that he hoped it would not need to be used. The naval deployment began earlier this month from the Asia-Pacific region amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following a crackdown on protests in Iran.

Trump had previously threatened intervention if Iran continued to kill protesters, but said he had been told the killings were subsiding and that he believed there were currently no plans for the execution of prisoners.

By Sabina Mammadli