U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets from the supercarrier USS Theodore Roosevelt are now operating from a major U.S. air operations hub in Jordan. The fighters were photographed configured for counter-air operations, each brandishing at least four AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and four AIM-9X Sidewinders, all live weapons.
They touched down ashore this past weekend as part of a U.S. military build-up in the region ahead of expected major attacks on Israel, and potentially U.S. interests, by Iran and its proxies. Iranian authorities have vowed to respond in a major way to the assassination of Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week. A series of long-range aerial attacks, using drones and missiles, is seen as the most likely course of action for Iran, hence the air-to-air configured Super Hornets forward deployment to Jordan to upgrade the region’s air defense posture.
The F/A-18Es from Strike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25), the “Fist of the Fleet,” arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on August 3, but the U.S. Air Force only released pictures, one of which is seen below, showing them landing there yesterday. Reports that an unspecified Super Hornet squadron had left the Theodore Roosevelt for a base on land somewhere in the Middle East had also first emerged yesterday.
The newly released Air Force images do not explicitly name Muwaffaq Salti, but do mention the service’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, which is known to manage U.S. air operations at the sprawling Jordanian base.
Positioning the Super Hornets at the Jordanian base in advance of any attack on Israel by Iran and/or its regional proxies makes good sense. Muwaffaq Salti is very centrally located in the region and has long been a key staging location for American air operations across the Middle East. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles forward-deployed in Jordan played an outsized role in the defense of Israel against previous Iranian retaliatory attacks in April, shooting down more than 70 drones in total. Iran also launched cruise and ballistic missiles at Israeli targets in that instance.
Just earlier this year, Navy Super Hornets became even better suited to help knock down hordes of incoming drones and cruise missiles. The service’s F/A-18E/Fs can now carry AIM-9Xs on their two most outboard underwing stations (stations 2 and 10) in addition to their wingtips thanks to a crash program in response to the still ongoing attacks on commercial shipping and warships in and around the Red Sea by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
The jets from VFA-25 that arrived at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base showcased this air-to-air munitions flexibility with four AIM-9Xs installed. As already noted, the fighters were also armed with at least four AIM-120s. It is likely that each of the jets carried a fifth AIM-120 on their right intake station, but this is not clearly visible in any of the released pictures. The nine-missile counter-air loadout, which is more air-to-air missiles than the F-15E can carry during a single sortie, has been observed in use in operations over and around the Red Sea.
AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting pods are visible on the Super Hornets’ left intake stations and each one is also carrying a 480-gallon fuel tank on the centerline. As The War Zone has previously noted:
“Potentially, another AMRAAM could be carried on the left intake station, for a total of 10 air-to-air missiles, although in this instance the station is loaded with the aforementioned ATFLIR pod. Advanced targeting pods are critical components of a modern tactical fighter’s air defense arsenal as they allow for beyond-visual-range positive identification of targets. This is especially important in densely populated and complex airspace, and can lead to quicker identification friend or foe and the ability to fire on a target with confidence long before it would be within the rules of engagement otherwise. ATFLIR’s infrared and TV sensors can be slaved to the Super Hornet’s radar and vice-versa, adding an extra layer of integrated targeting.”
“The pods can also collect important intelligence on aerial targets, whether they are engaged or not. A secondary quasi-infrared search and track mode is also available on some pods that can provide detection of stealthy targets, although this is not nearly as capable as a dedicated advanced IRST sensor system.”
It’s not entirely clear, but the VFA-25 Super Hornets now forward-deployed in Jordan may also be in the latest Block III configuration. The jets seen in the release pictures have a new conformal satellite communications antenna, also found on EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, on top of the rear end of their fuselage. Though not technically part of the Block III upgrade package, the Navy rolled this and other updates into a single larger modification process for existing Block II jets. New production Block IIIs have this feature, as well.
Block III Super Hornets feature new wide-area touchscreen multifunction displays that are highly customizable in their cockpits (including for backseaters in two-seat F models), along with improved mission computers with greater processing power and advanced networking capabilities. Another component of the upgrade package is still largely unexplained features to help reduce the jet’s radar signature to some degree. The original plan was to add range-extending conformal fuel tanks, too, but this was ultimately nixed due to issues encountered during the integration process.
Improved communications and data-sharing capabilities would be invaluable for Super Hornets engaged in a response to any forthcoming Iranian drone and missile attacks, or a larger regional confrontation that might subsequently erupt. Assets from across the U.S. military in all domains, as well as other international partners, help shield Israel from incoming threats back in April, and close coordination in such operations is absolutely critical.
The War Zone just recently highlighted the very important roles that Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, especially ones now capable of refueling in flight and staying on station longer, could soon play in the region for exactly these reasons. The look-down capabilities of the E-2D’s radar also make it well-suited to spotting and tracking low-flying, small signature drones and cruise missiles. Super Hornets and Advanced Hawkeyes are a particularly capable combination thanks to intricate networking architecture that allows for the former to engage targets that their radars and other sensors cannot ‘see.’
The VFA-25 Super Hornets now at Muwaffaq Salti are just some of the U.S. military assets that have been heading to the region to help bolster America’s force posture in advance of any Iranian or Iranian-backed attacks. This also includes the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp and the other ships its amphibious ready group, along with the elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked on those vessels, which are now in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group are heading west from the Pacific, ostensibly to relieve Theodore Roosevelt. Among other things, Lincoln is carrying EA-18Gs with powerful new electronic warfare pods, which you can read more about here.
A dozen Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, having flown all the way from Alaska with a stopover in England, are among the air assets that have been dispatched to bases in the Middle East, as well. America’s force posture in the Middle East has already been bolstered multiple times since Hamas launched its unprecedented terrorist attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, kicking off a chain of events that has led to the current situation.
The U.S. military has another potent addition to this force mix with the Navy F/A-18Es and their impressive air-to-air loadouts now at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com