WASHINGTON, August 3. /TASS/. The United States will deploy additional defensive military capabilities to the Middle East in order to defend Israel as Washington is also taking steps to increase its readiness to deploy more land-based ballistic missile defense, the US Department of Defense said in a press release on Friday.

According to it, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin "has ordered additional ballistic missile defense-capable cruisers and destroyers to the US European Command and US Central Command regions." The Pentagon is also "taking steps to increase our [US] readiness to deploy additional land-based ballistic missile defense.

Also, the US defense chief has ordered more fighters to the Middle East, the Pentagon added.