Flight data shows stream of U.S. military cargo jets heading to Middle East

Flight-tracking data showed several U.S. Air Force C-17 transport aircraft flying from bases in Europe toward the Middle East, as President Donald Trump weighs joining strikes on Yemen’s Houthis.

Flightradar24 tracking data on Wednesday showed at least six U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft flying toward the Middle East, pointing to a busy airlift from American bases in Europe.

According to the data, the aircraft took off from RAF Mildenhall in Britain and from Spangdahlem and Ramstein air bases in Germany, routing over central Europe and the Balkans to the eastern Mediterranean and on toward Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. The Pentagon has not said what the planes are carrying or whether the flights are linked to any specific operation.

Flight-tracking map showing U.S. C-17s flying from Europe to the Middle East

Movements coincide with escalation on the Yemen–Saudi front

The flights come as Trump is reported to be weighing joining attacks on the Houthis in Yemen after their missile strikes on Riyadh and Aramco facilities. The Houthis have threatened to target U.S. personnel and interests in the region if Trump orders strikes against them.

Washington is also enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports amid rising tension in the Strait of Hormuz, where four ships came under attack on Tuesday. The White House had earlier denied reports that a new operation against Iran was being prepared.

Open-source trackers counted more than 100 C-17s heading to the region in February, shortly before the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of that month, although the Pentagon never publicly tied those flights to any operation.