On Wednesday, the American military took action against five subterranean armament facilities in Yemen regions under the control of the Houthi militia, who are supported by Iran. The offensive was carried out with a fleet of aircraft including the B-2 stealth bombers, serving as a potential admonition to Iran.
Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defence, revealed that the directive for the strikes came from President Joe Biden with the intention of diminishing the Houthis’ ability to assault commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, thereby disrupting maritime trade. Notably, Iran was not mentioned by Austin, despite the use of the B-2 bombers – the only planes capable of targeting Iran’s concealed nuclear installations – at a time of escalating tension between Iran and Israel, threatening to escalate to a full-scale war.
Austin asserted in a communique that this operation further showcased the US’ capability in targeting adversary facilities, regardless of their underground location and fortification. He drew attention to the strategic use of B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers to demonstrate America’s global offensive capabilities that can be leveraged when needed, without any geographical constraints.
US Central Command, anchored in Tampa, Florida, acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday night, the participation of US Navy “assets” in the offensive. It was aimed at neutralising sophisticated weapons that are used against international military and civilian vessels traversing international waters.
Generally, for the successful offensives on subterranean facilities, ‘bunker buster’ bombs possessing thicker steel casings are used that contain lesser quantity of explosives compared to similarly-sized general-purpose bombs. These bombs’ robust casings help them to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete intact and then explode.
The B-2 is the sole aircraft capable of carrying the Pentagon’s largest weapon in this category: a 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), equating approximately to 5,600 pounds of TNT. A representative from the Pentagon abstained from confirming if this weapon was deployed in Wednesday’s offensive.
As of 2015, it was openly admitted by the American air force that they had constructed 20 bombs, five of which were tested at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range in 2012, according to open-source documents. From information found on an American air force website, it is conceivable for the bombs to reach up to 200ft below ground before setting off an explosion.
Their collection of weapons further includes 5,000-pound and 2,000-pound penetrator bombs that can be utilised by various fighter planes.
It is perceived that the American air force has a mere 19 operational B-2 bombers, all of which are stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. However, the Pentagon has intermittently deployed a few for manoeuvres in the Pacific and Indian Ocean.
The most recent deployment on Wednesday signified the inaugural combat mission of the stealth bomber with a wing-shaped design since January 2017, as per Bloomberg. On that occasion, two B-2s completed a 30-hour round excursion to launch an attack on an Islamic State training camp in Libya.
For Wednesday’s assault, the B-2 bombers would have been required to either journey round-trip from Missouri to Yemen with a mid-air refuelling or take off from a base significantly nearer to their intended targets.
In response to a query about the launch locations of the B-2s for Wednesday’s assault, Maj Gen Patrick S Ryder, the Pentagon representative, stated, “Due to operational security, we won’t discuss our operating locations within the region.”
Last year, the Houthis began attacking civilian tankers and cargo ships in the ocean as a gesture of support for Hamas. Since mid-November, the American forces have targeted several dozens of Houthi launch drones and anti-ship missiles aimed at commercial merchant vessels. They have also systematically deployed air attacks against Houthi missile and radar sites.
This information was originally reported by The New York Times, with further reports from Bloomberg.