A CNN report stated that Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii this week said approximately 25 F-22s Raptors from the Hawaii Air National Guard and from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will deploy this month to Guam and Tinian islands for Operation Pacific Iron 2021.

"We have never had this many Raptors deployed together in the Pacific Air Forces area of operations," Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander, told CNN.

The F-22s are fifth-generation combat jets, the world's most advanced fighter aircraft.

The deployment sends a strong message to China at a time when the bilateral relations between the two countries are strained over Pacific flashpoints likeTaiwan and the South China Sea, according to analysts.

"The Pacific Air Force is demonstrating that it can deploy as many or more fifth-generation aircraft into the theater on short notice than (China) currently has in its entire inventory," said Carl Schuster, a Hawaii-based defense analyst and a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, CNN reported.

The Chinese air force has about 20 to 24 operational fifth-generation fighters, but Beijing is improving its capabilities at a fast pace, he noted.

"The US is actively practicing the deployments it will make if there is a major crisis or war. The US is taking China very seriously and is developing its force posture and training its forces to be able to quickly move into position," Peter Layton, a former Australian air force officer now an analyst with the Griffith Asia Institute, was quoted as saying by CNN.