DUBAI: US F-22 fighter spurts arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, part of American defense response to recent bullet attacks by Yemen’s Houthi revolutionists targeting the country.
The Raptors landed at Al-Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, which hosts some US colors. American dogfaces there launched Patriot interceptor dumdums in response to the Houthi attacks last month, the first time US colors have fired the system in combat since the 2003 US- led irruption of Iraq.
American officers declined to say how numerous F-22s stationed or the number of birdmen supporting the aircraft, citing functional security. Still, they linked the unit involved as the 1st Fighter Wing, located at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia. A print latterly released by the Air Force showed six F-22s in a line on a taxiway at Al-Dhafra.
The Raptors presence will bolster formerly strong mate nation defences and puts destabilising forces on notice that the US and our mates are committed to enabling peace and stability in the region,”Lt.Gen. Greg Guillot, the commander of the US Air Force’s Mideast command, said in a statement.
The deployment comes after the Iranian- backed Houthis launched three attacks targeting Abu Dhabi last month, including one targeting a energy depot that killed three people and wounded six. The attacks coincided with visits by chairpersons from South Korea and Israel to the country.
A shadowy Iraqi group claimed launching a drone attack targeting the Emirates in early February, though authorities say they interdicted them.
Though overshadowed by the Ukraine extremity, the bullet fire targeting the Emirates has sparked a major US response. The American service has transferred the USS Cole on a charge to Abu Dhabi.
The spillover of Yemen’s yearslong war into the UAE puts American colors in the crosshairs of the Houthi attacks and raises the threat of an indigenous escalation at a pivotal moment of addresses in Vienna to potentially restore Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
