PRESS RELEASE: JINSA’s Ruhe Explains Why America Just Added a Land-Based Aircraft Carrier to the Middle East

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2026
Contact: Blake Johnson
bjohnson@jinsa.org

Washington, DC — Confirmed reports of the United States positioning F-22 stealth fighters at Israel’s Ovda Air Base are a significant development in U.S.-Israel military cooperation, according to Jonathan Ruhe, fellow for American strategy at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. Ovda is already built to U.S. specifications, making it fit for the United States to utilize immediately, despite never operating from there before.

In September, Ruhe led a task force of retired U.S. Air Force generals, all with CENTCOM experience, to explore U.S. basing options in Israel and conduct a fact-finding mission at Ovda. Their report, Base for Success, underscored Ovda’s unique ability to support U.S. offensive operations against Iran, unlike other U.S. bases in the broader Middle East.

Ruhe provided the following statement:

“The first-ever U.S. deployment of combat aircraft to Israel sends a crucial signal to Iran: America just added a land-based aircraft carrier to the region that reinforces its two at sea.

“Positioning advanced stealth F-22s and aerial refuelers at Ovda gives the United States unique freedom of action to conduct offensive strike operations against Iran, and the airbase’s defenses offer much better protection from Iranian retaliation than U.S. bases in the Gulf.

“Recent deployments of U.S. fighter jets to bases in Arab countries can help shoot down Iranian missile and drone attacks, but their governments will not allow the U.S. to conduct offensive operations from there. The symbolism of U.S. attack aircraft on Israeli runways and tarmacs also confronts Iran’s regmie with the daunting scenario of its two most capable adversaries working closely to support one another.”

Jonathan Ruhe is available for interview.

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