The US has significantly increased the presence of heavy bombers at its base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, signaling the US could launch heavier airstrikes on Yemen.
According to open-source reports, the US has sent five B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and at least seven C-17 transport aircraft to Diego Garcia. The US is also deploying an additional aircraft carrier to the Middle East.
The additional US firepower in the region could be used to ramp up airstrikes on Yemen as the Houthis have been undeterred by the daily US bombings that started on March 15, and President Trump has threatened the group with “annihilation.”
Since the US started bombing Yemen again, the Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, have said they will meet “escalation with escalation” and have claimed many attacks on the US aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman. The Houthis also began firing missiles at Israel again in response to Israel restarting the large-scale bombing of Gaza.
The increased US bomber presence could also serve as a threat to Iran. The Trump administration has been increasing sanctions on Iran and threatening potential military action if a deal isn’t reached on its nuclear program, even though US intelligence agencies have reaffirmed there’s no evidence Iran is working toward a nuclear weapon.
There are other risks of escalation in the region, including in Lebanon, where Israel has flouted a ceasefire deal by continuing to occupy southern Lebanon and launch airstrikes on the country. Iraqi Shia militias could also restart attacks on US bases in response to US support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
This is the reported limit range of those B-2 bombers (11,000 km of autonomy, half to go, half to get back to base):
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4298ddc93aac06bc64033f9421f70f6c1c097b670a359a0962611ca747e0baa3.png
Scary!
For comparison, Iranian Sejjil3 4000 km range would have a limited launching area if it wants to hit Diego Garcia, even if it can reach well into Western Europe:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b1016c4f7e918e526cbcd91741001727ebd203120598fbb8461cb34429aa218b.jpg
Are B-2's capable of midflight refueling ?
Yes but I did not even consider that.
Ah. Further, it is possible long-range aircraft adopted something akin to the SCUBA Rule of Thirds – 1/3 of you air (or fuel) for the way there, 1/3 of your air (or fuel) for your way back, remaining 1/3 held as reserved in case of unexpected issues.
Maybe. I don’t know that much but my point was that, even without refueling, they could hit almost everywhere in Iran and definitely anywhere in Yemen. They’re also stealth, so, even if Yemen would have AA capabilities (which it doesn’t or are very limited), they’d be very difficult to take down.
Barrage Balloons ! Very high altitude ones. The DPRC can provide them for US$35 per, with a price-break at 3,000 units.
Japan was there, did that… not even a lousy t-shirt.
Obviously the Iranian alternative would be to threaten Britain (sovereing over Diego Garcia, which is in range of Iranian missiles) and Israel, as well as the US bases in the region, from Kurdistan to the UAE. They can’t reach the Emperor, but they can definitely ravage the vassals and the local imperial deployment (as well as crashing the global economy with a Hormuz Strait blockade).
Very true. Tho with the Houthis of Yemen on the offensive against the ASI, and with civilian nuclear issues in loose discussion with the USA, I don’t see a lot of pressure on the IRI to rock the boat with strikes against Israel at the moment.
Yes, they say that Hizbollah and such are angry at Iran for not doing their part. They could have done much more.
No that is not how it is done. Fuel management for a combat strike is a complex relationship between weather, bomb loads, wind, tanker availability, runway availability and many other factors.
For commercial planes it is simple, keep enough in reserve for 45 minutes .
But then, how much of a risk to a multimillion-dollar (or billion-range) aircraft is any air force willing to take ?
I would assume Cold War B-52’s actually executing a nuclear strike on targets inside the USSR were either considered one-way trips (emphasis on delivering payload to target at all costs) or the survival of the aircraft after delivery on target was of minimal concern – get back to the field if you can or ditch & bail when the fuel runs dry, as close to safe territory as possible.
But when a mission isn’t apocalyptic and the aircraft is of critical value, there HAS to be defined “go/no-go” limits on safety margins, no ?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5b1ac01c278b74f237b5a40c4b9cfb8cff47b7e75a09d3bbb5a18697a3aa13ef.jpg
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Think it's getting more obvious this is the build up of US forces to attack Iran? After Biden, many thought things would change under Trump; man were they wrong, it's just business as usual and the usual gang of idiots are still in charge of the uni-party.
B-2s have to fire missiles afar to be safe but the strikes could not be accurate especially with the intelligence US has these days with Yemen…! If they want to drop bombs, Iran already has their signatures in their radars…!
"Iran already has their signatures in their radars" So what. The B-2 RCS is very small
Some details that mpr21 (in Spanish) gathered :
At least 5 B2 Spirit (and up to 7 maybe) have been deployed to Diego Garcia, confirmed ones have call ID: PITCH 11, 12 and 14 and ABBA 11 and 12. PITCH 13 was initially also sent to Chagos but was recalled mid-air to Hawaii (malfunction?)
Additionally 7 cargo planes C-17A Globemaster III have been deployed to the island. Also four refueling planes were deployed to Guam and Amberley (Australia) to support the migrating B2.