U.S. B‑2 bombers strike Yemen in show of force against Iran

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed the attack. Aircraft from the 509th Bomb Wing based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri participated. This is where American B-2 bombers are stationed, which in April 2024 conducted a spectacular "elephant walk", a rapid launch of a large number of aircraft preceded by an impressive taxiing of planes on the runway.

According to experts, the use of B-2 aircraft may not have been dictated by operational necessity, and the targets destroyed by the "Spirits" could have been hit in another way. However, employing the most expensive, limited strategic bombers is considered a demonstration of force aimed at Iran.

"This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach. (…) The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate U.S. global strike capabilities," stated the Department of Defense's announcement.

It is unknown what weapons were in the B-2's weapon bays. According to Milmag, the use of strategic bombers may suggest that the underground warehouses were attacked with the heaviest bombs in the American arsenal, the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

This weapon was developed to destroy underground Iraqi military installations, which were so well secured over the years that, according to the Pentagon, American precision weapons might not have been able to destroy them. Therefore, the GBU-57A/B bomb was developed, which is approximately 6 metres long and weighs nearly 14,000 kilograms.

The GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator, due to its weight and reinforced body construction, can destroy a target hidden under a 40-metre layer of rock, a 60-metre layer of soil, or an 8-metre layer of reinforced concrete. If speculations about its use are confirmed, it will be the first combat use of this weapon in history.