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Qabil Ashirov

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Several United States military transport aircraft have been observed arriving at and departing from an American air base in Osan Air Base in South Korea over the past week, prompting speculation that United States Forces Korea may be redeploying military assets to the Middle East as tensions escalate in the region.

According to flight data from Flightradar24, several C‑5 Galaxy and C‑17 Globemaster III transport aircraft landed at the base, located south of Seoul, in late February before departing between Wednesday and Saturday. The movements were first reported by Yonhap News Agency.

At least two C-5 aircraft arrived at the base in late February and were later seen departing on 28 February and again the following Monday. Meanwhile, several C-17 aircraft left the base between Tuesday and 7 March, with six confirmed to have flown to Anchorage in the US state of Alaska.

The unusual flight activity has led to speculation that USFK could be preparing to relocate Patriot missile defence system units to the Middle East. Reports indicate that some Patriot batteries were recently moved to Osan Air Base from other US installations in South Korea.

In June last year, the United States deployed at least two Patriot batteries to the Middle East during a period of heightened tensions following American strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Those systems were later returned to South Korea in October.

Both United States Forces Korea and South Korea Ministry of National Defense declined to comment on the recent aircraft movements, stating that operational troop activities are not discussed publicly.