The U.S. has sent stealthy, radar-dodging B-2 bombers to the Diego Garcia facility in the Indian Ocean, signaling a strong message to both Iran and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
American airstrikes
Could intensify further if Houthi assaults on Israel and Red Sea shipping do not cease.
This week, B-2 Spirit bombers were deployed to their current location from their home base in Missouri, as stated by a representative from the U.S. Strategic Command. These aircraft form an integral component of the Pentagon’s strategy aimed at “deterring, identifying, and, when needed, countering significant threats to both the United States and its partners,” according to the same source.
President Trump has initiated an offensive against the Houthis, resulting in numerous air raids over the last couple of weeks aimed at destroying their weaponry and eliminating key leaders within the group. These attacks were discussed during what is now a contentious briefing by officials from the Trump administration.
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—have been more intense than those conducted during the Biden administration but have not prevented the Houthis from launching nearly daily missile strikes against Israel.
Trump has warned Iran
, which has supported the Houthis, that Tehran will face consequences if the
U.S.-designated terrorist group
It continues its assaults. Additionally, he has cautioned Iran that it could face military consequences if it proceeds with the development of a nuclear weapon.
According to former defense personnel, the recent deployment of the new bomber significantly boosts the U.S. military’s capacity to conduct attacks on the deeply buried bunkers constructed by the Houthis and Iran. The B-2 stands alone among U.S. stealth planes for its capability to deploy the GBU-57, a massive 30,000-pound “bunker buster” weapon referred to as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. Positioning these bombers at Diego Garcia places them approximately 2,500 miles away from Houthi-controlled areas and around 3,300 miles distant from Iran—both distances comfortably falling inside their operational reach with an overall fuel range extending up to 6,900 miles.
“It’s something the Iranians would need to observe,” stated William Wechsler, a former defense official responsible for counterterrorism efforts, who currently serves as the senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs.
According to an analysis of Planet Labs satellite imagery conducted by Ian Ellis-Jones, who specializes in Indo-Pacific security matters, the B-2 bombers were joined by C-17A Globemaster III transport airplanes. These aircraft have the capability to transport troops, support gear, and ammunition necessary for extended missions involving long-range bombers.
“This unprecedented concentration of overwhelming U.S. firepower in close proximity to the region is intended to signal to the Houthis that…unless they stand down immediately, things are about to get much, much worse for them,” said John Hannah, who served as a national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
The previous week, the Pentagon sent out
a second aircraft
A naval task force led by an aircraft carrier will be dispatched to the Middle East, enhancing America’s military capability against the Houthis and maintaining a constant carrier presence in the vicinity as regional tensions escalate.
Trump has cautioned against the assaults on the Houthis.
would escalate
and that the group would be “entirely wiped out.”
The B-2, which is now thirty years old, stands as the United States’ only stealth strategic bomber. Initially conceived for carrying nuclear arms, it has been modified to also deploy substantial quantities of massive conventional munitions. Since entering service, this aircraft has seen action in just five military operations.
The bomber was last used in action in October when the Biden administration dispatched two B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base located in Missouri to strike territories held by the Houthis approximately 7,400 miles distant.
The strike targeted missiles, weapon parts, and various ammunition stored within tunnels beneath Sana’a, Yemen’s capital city, according to Mohammed Al-Basha, a U.S.-based Middle Eastern security analyst from the Basha Report. The blast caused multiple tunnel exits to collapse; however, evidence from commercial satellite images indicates that Houthi forces managed to regain entrance by digging fresh openings, as stated by him.
The analysts indicated that this move was intended to demonstrate strength towards Iran.
“The U.S. government has utilized Yemen as a demonstration of its capability and resolve to deliver a strong strike against Iran and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” stated Wechsler.
The B-2 made its combat debut during the Kosovo War, where within the initial eight-week period, it demolished one-third of all targeted sites, as highlighted in an official U.S. Air Force briefing about the bomber. Following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, this stealthy airplane spearheaded the assault on Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan, paving the path for American troops to advance into the region. Later, the B-2 initiated operations at the onset of the Iraqi campaign in 2003, deploying over 1.5 million pounds of ordnance prior to the land offensive, claims an Air Force document. In addition, the B-2 played a crucial role in neutralizing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s aerial capabilities in Libya back in 2011, and subsequently attacked ISIS training grounds located in the same nation in 2017.
David Des Roches, who previously worked at the Defense Department, outlined the benefits of using bombers: “The Houthis would have no early warnings. They can carry a large payload. And they allow for rapid redeployment to maintain an intense bombing campaign.”
A significant number of U.S. attacks on the Houthis have been conducted using fighter jets like the F/A-18 Super Hornets.
B-2 bombers are typically employed for their impact at the start of significant offensives, according to former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Michael Patrick Mulroy. Their deployment signals to Iran that they should “enter negotiations or possibly confront superior military power,” he explained.
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