Increased Plane Traffic At U.S. Italian And Spanish Bases Points To The U.S. Getting Ready For Military Confrontation

Dozens of American cargo planes have reached the U.S. bases in Rota and Morón, Spain and the one in Aviano, Italy. It is the largest military deployment at these bases since the 2003 Iraq War.

The almost 30,000 inhabitants of the small town of Rota, in southern Spain, have been surprised by the intense increase in American military air traffic over the last few days. The United States operates a naval base, which services several different types of American naval vessels, out of Rota, and it maintains an airbase one hundred kilometers away in Morón de la Frontera which caters to to the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft. The US destroyers deployed from Rota are part of the NATO missile shield used to defend itself in the event of an attack by Iran, something that seems closer than ever after the latest events in the region. Aviano’s military base in Italy has also registered a dramatic increase in air traffic.

The increase in traffic in Rota and Morón were detected at the same time that the Pentagon confirmed the death of Qasem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force of Iran, in a concerted U.S. strike. Almost immediately, Iran vowed revenge. The U.S. Department of Defense accused Soleimani of “developing plans to attack U.S. diplomats and service members throughout the region.”

Spanish sources at the bases of Rota and Morón have reported the arrival of military cargo planes and refueling planes at the base. Specifically, the sources reported the arrival on Friday, January 3 of at least three C-5M and one C-17A transport aircraft in addition to a KC-10A tanker aircraft.

In military terms, the deployment of U.S. resources that is taking place in Spain is extraordinary and would seem to signal the beginning of intensified military operations in the Middle East. The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is one of the largest aircraft ever built, and it can carry up to 135 tons of cargo from Dover base in Delaware to Incirlik in Turkey without refueling. In addition, the C-5M can carry up to 36 standard pallets and 81 soldiers at the same time, two M1 Abrams battle tanks, up to six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters or up to 15 HMMWV military vehicles. Additionally, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, stationed at Aviano, was ordered to be ready for deployment to protect the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, accoridng to ABC News.

https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/03/increased-traffic-us-italian-spanish-bases-military-confrontation/