Super Hornet fighter jets loaded with supersonic missiles spotted in Middle East ahead of potential Iranian attacks: report

• US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets have arrived in Jordan, The War Zone reported.
• It comes as part of a US military build-up in the region ahead of potential Iranian attacks on Israel.
• Iran has vowed to hit back after the assassination of a top Hamas leader last week.

US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornets have arrived in Jordan ahead of potential Iranian attacks on Israel, The War Zone reported.

Images of the jets, which are from Strike Fighter Squadron 25 (VFA-25), were released earlier this week after their arrival at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base on August 3, the report said.

The photos showed the jets were primed for air-to-air operations, with each one equipped with at least four AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles and four AIM-9X Sidewinders, it added.

AIM-120 missiles, also known as AMRAAMs, are supersonic missiles with a launch weight of 335 pounds, according to the US Air Force (USAF).

They have a range of more than 20 miles and use a blast fragmentation warhead.

Sidewinders are "supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air" missiles, the USAF says.

They have a launch weight of 190 pounds and an annular blast fragmentation warhead.

F-22 fighter jets have also touched down in the CENTCOM area of responsibility

The Super Hornet jets' arrival in the Middle East comes as part of a US military build-up in the region ahead of potential attacks by Iran and its proxies against Israel.

Iran has vowed to hit back following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, one of Hamas' top leaders, in Tehran last week. Iran said Israel was behind the assassination.

Haniyeh was the leader of the political wing of Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza and which has been at war with Israel since the October 7 attacks.

US Central Command said in a post on X on Thursday that some F-22 Raptors had also landed its area of responsibility.

USAF F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets flying out of Jordan were key to Israel's defense against Iran's large-scale attack in April, when Tehran launched some 300 drones and missiles toward Israel.