Satellite images show that dozens of US military aircraft are no longer visible on the tarmac at a major US base in Qatar, news agency AFP reported. This may be a step to protect them from possible Iranian air strikes, as the United States considers whether to join Israel in its ongoing conflict with Iran in the Middle East.Images from Planet Labs PBC on June 5, the AFP report says, showed nearly 40 military aircraft at Al Udeid Air Base. These included transport aircraft like the Hercules C-130 and reconnaissance planes. By June 19, a new image showed only three aircraft visible on the tarmac. The US embassy in Qatar said Thursday that access to the base would be limited “out of an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing regional hostilities,” and asked personnel to “exercise increased vigilance.” The White House said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump will make a decision in the next two weeks on whether to support Israel’s military strikes on Iran. Iran may respond by targeting US bases in the region.“He will make a decision within the next two weeks” about taking a direct military role in the conflict, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing.Aircraft, personnel, and facilities at Al Udeid base would be “extremely vulnerable” due to its “close proximity” to Iran, Mark Schwartz, a former US Army lieutenant general and defense researcher at the Rand Corporation, was quoted as saying by the AFP. Schwartz, who has served in the Middle East, told AFP that even shrapnel could make the aircraft “non-mission capable.” “You want to reduce risk to US forces, both personnel and equipment,” he said. The aircraft that are no longer visible on the tarmac may have been moved into hangars or relocated to other bases in the area.US forces in the region have been active since Israel began its strikes on Iran almost a week ago. An additional aircraft carrier is on its way, and there has been increased aircraft movement. AFP report also mentions that open-source data tracking of the movement of aircraft found that between June 15 and 18, at least 27 military refueling planes — KC-46A Pegasus and KC-135 Stratotanker — flew from the US to Europe. As of late Wednesday, 25 of those planes remained in Europe, while only two had returned to the United States, according to the data.
