F-22 Raptors land at RAF Lakenheath amid speculation over US posture in Middle East

F-22 Raptors have been spotted landing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.

Eugenia Golding, who lives five miles from the flight path at Lakenheath, told BFBS Forces News she saw 12 F-22s come into land there on the evening of Wednesday 18 June.

Ms Golding photographed the jets and said she identified them via letters on their tail fins as originating from their home base, Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, USA.

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RAF Lakenheath is a British base but used exclusively by US forces, and it's often used as a stopover for aircraft transiting through the region.

Described by the official US Air Force site as a "combination of stealth, supercruise, manoeuvrability, and integrated avionics..." the F22 is also said by the USAF to be "unmatched by any known or projected fighter aircraft".

The arrivals come amid speculation of US involvement in the Israel-Iran crisis could require the use of the UK-controlled Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands.

The B-2 stealth bombers, capable of carrying specialised "bunker buster" GBU-57 MOP bombs, recently spent time at Diego Garcia but returned to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri in early May this year.