European Bases Enabled the US Air Campaign Against Iran — Why European Infrastructure Still Matters Strategically

Once again, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to close American bases in Europe, or at least to reduce the U.S. military presence on the Old Continent.

Yet the recent US-led air campaign against Iran tells a very different story operationally: without European bases and infrastructure, such an operation would likely have been impossible at its current scale.

The map above is not exhaustive, but it highlights a fundamental reality often overlooked in political rhetoric. From tanker operations to ISR missions and logistical transit hubs, Europe remains deeply embedded in the American military architecture supporting operations in the Middle East.

Far from being strategically marginal, the continent continues to provide the backbone of US force projection toward CENTCOM’s area of responsibility.

A European Logistics Network Supporting CENTCOM

During the campaign, numerous European bases played distinct operational roles.

Some were primarily used for aerial refueling operations. Among the most important were RAF Mildenhall, facilities near Sofia and Bucharest, as well as Souda Bay. These locations enabled the massive tanker bridge required to sustain continuous combat sorties toward the Middle East.

Other bases acted as logistical transit hubs for aircraft arriving directly from the United States. This included Lajes Air Base, Naval Station Rota, Aviano Air Base and Ramstein Air Base.

Meanwhile, specialized operations were conducted from bases such as Larissa Air Base, which has hosted drone activities, and Naval Air Station Sigonella, which again emerged as one of the most critical nodes for remotely piloted aircraft and ISR support missions.

Europe Remains Indispensable for US Air Power

The scale of the operation demonstrates why forward infrastructure still matters despite advances in long-range strike capabilities.

Even with three US aircraft carriers currently operating within CENTCOM’s broader theater, carrier aviation alone could not sustain the volume of sorties required for a prolonged regional air campaign. Nor could strategic airlift aircraft operating directly from the continental United States provide the same operational tempo without intermediate staging points.

More than one hundred tanker aircraft reportedly transited through European bases during the operation, alongside hundreds of fighters, bombers and transport aircraft. That network allowed the United States to maintain a logistical chain that remains unmatched globally.

This is the key strategic point often absent from political debates about NATO burden-sharing: Europe is not only a consumer of American security. It is also a critical enabler of US global military operations.