Behind the rhetoric, the Pentagon has quickly expanded its footprint within the area. The USS Abraham Lincoln service strike group is already on station, with a second service, the USS Gerald Ford, en route. Dozens of further US plane – together with superior F‑16, F‑22 and F‑35 fighters – have been deployed, giving Washington the aptitude for a sustained air marketing campaign moderately than a one‑off strike. Lengthy‑vary bombers might be launched from US soil or from bases corresponding to Diego Garcia within the Indian Ocean.
