White House National Security Communications Advisor John F. Kirby affirmed that the deployment of a squadron of F-22s in the Middle East was generally thought of as a defensive platform. The great thing about the F-22, -- a lot of advanced fighter aircraft that we put in the air, is that they can do a whole heck of a lot of things, and that includes defensive missions," he said in reply to a question from a reporter via a webinar on Wednesday. "As we made clear last week, the military posture changes that Secretary Austin directed at the President's order are meant for defensive purposes only, to help defend Israel and to help defend our troops and our facilities and our own interests in the region. "But make no mistake: The F-22 is a superior aircraft at a whole heck of a lot of things," Kirby stressed. "The purpose of putting it there, putting that squadron -- adding that squadron in the region is for those larger defensive purposes that I talked about," he added. Source: Kuwait News Agency