The Pentagon has sent at least six B-2 bombers – 30% of the US Air Force’s stealth bomber fleet – to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, in what analysts have called a message to Iran as tensions once again flare in the Middle East.
The deployment comes as US President Donald Trump and his defense chief Pete Hegseth warn of further action against Iran and its proxies, while US jets continue to attack the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Images taken by private satellite imaging company Planet Labs on Tuesday show the six US bombers on the tarmac on the island, as well as shelters that could possibly conceal others. Tankers and cargo aircraft are also at the island airbase, a joint US-British base which is 3,900 kilometers (2,400 miles) from Iran’s southern coast.
Planet Labs images from Sunday show four B-2s and six support aircraft on the Diego Garcia tarmac.
Without mentioning the B-2s directly, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that the US military is sending additional aircraft and “other air assets” to the region to improve America’s defensive posture in the region.
“The United States and its partners remain committed to regional security … and are prepared to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the region,” Parnell said.
“The deployment of these B-2s is clearly designed to send a message – perhaps several messages – to Iran,” said the former US Air Force colonel.
“One of them could be a warning to cease supporting the Houthis in Yemen. Another message the Trump administration might be sending to Iran is that it wants a new nuclear deal (to replace the ‘bad’ deal Trump withdrew the US from in his first term) and if Iran doesn’t start to negotiate with the US the consequences could be the destruction of Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” Leighton said.
Trump began ramping up military action against the Houthis in mid-March, with airstrikes that killed at least 53 people and wounded almost 100 others in Yemen, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry.
Strikes have continued since, as Houthis threaten US warships in the region, in attacks that the militants say are in solidarity with Gaza as it faces bombardment by Israel, a key US ally.
In disclosures that caused a major controversy for the Trump administration, Hegseth shared sensitive information last month on pending military strikes against Houthi militants on an unsecured group chat with top national security officials — a chain to which The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was accidentally added.
Trump, in a Tuesday post on his social media platform Truth Social, on Tuesday threatened more could be coming.
“Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran,” Trump posted.
Trump has also been pushing Iran to make a deal over its nuclear capabilities, saying on March 19 that he would give Tehran two months to come to an agreement or face the consequences.
There “are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal, because I’m not looking to hurt Iran,” Trump told Fox News last month.
But Iran this week rejected any direct negotiations.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “continues to make clear that, should Iran or its proxies threaten American personnel and interests in the region, the United States will take decisive action to defend our people,” Parnell said.
“Six is a serious number. For Houthi deeply buried targets, two or maybe three, but six B-2s is a major effort,” Layton said.
“Such targets would potentially include Iranian nuclear and weapons storage facilities,” the former US Air Force officer said.
Layton, the aviation analyst, noted that the six B-2s likely represent the entire deployable fleet of the aircraft.
“I assume there are one or two at home for training and another few standing nuclear alert. Rest in maintenance,” said Layton, a former Royal Australian Air Force pilot and now visiting fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute.
Parnell, the Pentagon spokesperson, said the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which has been carrying out strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, will stay in the region through this month, though its deployment there was scheduled to have ended at the end of March.
Hegseth “also ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities,” Parnell said. It’s unclear what squadrons or assets will be moving to the region.
Parnell added that the Nimitz Strike Group is deploying to the Western Pacific “to preserve our warfighting advantage in the Indo-Pacific.”
Leighton said that the presence of the B-2s on Diego Garcia would be noted across Asia.
“It’s unlikely the deployment of six B-2s to Diego Garcia is meant to deter actions by other powers, such as China or Russia, but they are surely taking note of this deployment as well. Of course, we can’t forget that Iran is an ally of those two countries,” he said.