More than 80 US tanker aircraft reportedly deployed in Israel
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on La Nouvelle Tribune
More than 80 US Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft are reportedly deployed in Israel, according to Israeli Channel 14, with no official confirmation of the number. The aircraft can extend US combat missions over Iran, the channel reports, while the first tankers were already there before the February strikes.
More than 80 US Air Force tanker aircraft are reportedly deployed in Israel, Israeli Channel 14 reported on 30 October 2026. The figure has not been officially confirmed. The aircraft can extend the missions of fighter jets over Iran.
The reinforcements are part of a deployment that began before the US and Israeli strikes against Iran. KC-135s were already stationed at Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, on 25 February, three days before the strikes began. The Israeli military said the additional tankers had been added in coordination with the United States, while saying it was facilitating their deployment without affecting civilian aviation needs.
The Israeli Air Force has a limited number of Boeing 707s converted into tankers, a capacity considered insufficient for long-range operations such as those conducted against Iran.
The deployment comes as Iran said on 30 October that it was ready to retaliate against any US or Israeli attack, and Israel sought Washington’s approval to strike Iranian energy infrastructure that same day. The war against Iran had already cost the United States more than $47 billion as of 28 October, according to a headline published by our news service.
