00:00Even without any military buildup, the United States has significant assets in and around
00:04the Gulf region. Five Air Force Expeditionary Wings are based in the Gulf, two in Kuwait,
00:10one each in the UAE and Saudi Arabia that includes squadrons of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.
00:16The fifth Air Force Expeditionary Wing, based in Qatar, has no offensive capabilities of its own,
00:21but provides extensive intelligence and air refueling for Air Force units in the region.
00:26The number of air defence sites has grown over the last 18 months, with new ones built in Kuwait
00:31and a proposed site for an additional missile defence system in Qatar.
00:35The powerful US Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf. The Carl Vinson Carrier Strike
00:40Group has its own air wing and fleet of accompanying ships capable of attacking targets deep inland,
00:46off the coast of Yemen, in the Arabian Sea. And the Indian Ocean Air Base at Diego Garcia
00:51has seen a significant buildup of B-52 bombers, F-15 long-range strike aircraft and air-to-air refuelling tankers.
