- B-2 bomber deployed at Diego Garcia, strategic base in the Indian Ocean.
- Flights are nuclear capable and can reach targets in Yemen, Iran.
- Diego Garcia is key-British base used for operations in Meast.
Washington: The United States has deployed B-2 bomber to a military base on the Indian Ocean Island Diego Garcia and strengthened his air power near Yemen and Iran in the middle of ongoing tensions and a bomb campaign in the region, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegeth decided to deploy additional war aircraft to reinforce the Pentagon’s naval assets in the Middle East.
The Pentagon’s short statement did not mention specific aircraft. However, at least four B-2 bombers have moved to an American-British military base on the Indian Ocean Island Diego Garcia, according to US officials speaking on condition of anonymity. It’s close enough to reach Yemen or Iran, experts say.
“The United States and its partners remain engaged in regional security in centcom (area of responsibility) and are prepared to respond to any state or non-governmental actor seeking to expand or escalate conflicts in the region,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in the statement.
“Secretary Hegeth continues to make it clear that if Iran or its clerk threatens American staff and interests in the region, the United States will take crucial actions to defend our people,” he added.
Centcom refers to the US central command, which includes a region that extends across northeastern Africa, the Middle East and Central and South Asia.
The B-2 bombers are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, and with only 20 such aircraft in the air defense’s inventory are usually used sparingly. In October, Biden used the bombers in its own campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.
