The US military has been making frequent moves in the Middle East recently. Not only has the B-2 stealth bombers gathered in Diego Garcia been put into air strikes on the Houthi armed forces in Yemen, but the THAAD and Patriots anti-missile systems drawn from all over the world are also stepping up their transfer to the Middle East. This abnormal move has widely speculated on the outside world whether the United States will set off a large-scale conflict in the Middle East?

"B-2 stealth bomber has joined the Houthi armed forces in the air strike"

Despite the continued air strikes from the US military, a Houthi military spokesman in Yemen issued a statement on April 6 saying that he had fired several cruise missiles and drones to the US aircraft carrier strike group in the northern part of the Red Sea and the accompanying US supply ships. Previously, on April 4, the Houthi armed forces also announced that "two attacks were carried out against the US aircraft carrier strike group within 24 hours."

6 B-2 bombers on the tarmac of Diego Garcia base

6 B-2 bombers on the tarmac of Diego Garcia base

The U.S. Navy Times said that since US President Trump approved the launch of air strikes on Yemen's Houthi-controlled areas on March 15, the US military has destroyed more than 100 targets including Houthi outposts, weapons warehouses, missile launch positions and other continuous attacks for more than two weeks, and killed several middle and senior leaders of Houthi armed forces. However, the Houthi armed forces did not retreat and are still continuing to launch counterattacks on the US aircraft carrier strike group in the Red Sea. "Commercial transportation and shipping in the Red Sea continue to be threatened."

CNN learned from US military personnel who are in charge of the progress of the operation on the 4th that the total cost of the US military's air strikes against the Houthi armed forces has reached nearly US$1 billion, but the effect is "limited." According to reports, in terms of weapons consumed alone, the JASSM long-range cruise missiles, JSOW joint defense weapons and the Tomahawk cruise missiles used by the US military are worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

"We are rapidly consuming our combat readiness - wear of ammunition, fuel and equipment." A source familiar with the operation said. "We have destroyed many of the Houthi facilities, but this has not affected the ability of the Houthi forces to continue to attack ships passing through the Red Sea." The U.S. military acknowledged that despite the continued blow, the Houthi forces are still strengthening bunkers and storing weapons underground, "Just like they did when they fought the U.S. forces during the Biden administration... It is difficult for us to estimate exactly how much ammunition reserves the Houthi have."

Currently, the US military's air strikes on Houthi armed forces mainly rely on carrier-based fighters taken off the Truman aircraft carrier and the Tomahawk cruise missiles launched by the aircraft carrier escort ship. Given that the attack effect of these weapons is not obvious, the US military is deploying B-2 "Ghost" stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean on a large scale. According to the US "power" website "War Zone" channel on the 4th, a US official revealed that the US Air Force has dispatched B-2 stealth bombers in the recent air strikes on the Houthi armed forces.

According to reports, a huge fleet of aircraft composed of B-2 stealth bombers, C-17 transport aircraft, KC-135 tankers, etc. has been deployed to the Diego Garcia base. The latest satellite photos taken by the US commercial satellite company Planet Laboratory on April 2 show that at least six B-2s and six KC-135s have been deployed at the base. According to reports, Diego Garcia Island, which is isolated in the depths of the Indian Ocean, is thousands of kilometers away from Yemen and Iran. It has been used by US strategic bombers many times as a starting point for long-range attacks on the Middle East.

The US Air Force has only 20 B-2s in service, 6 of which appear in Diego Garcia, meaning that 30% of the entire B-2 fleet is concentrated in this frontier base in the Indian Ocean. The Air Force Times said that considering factors such as maintenance, only a part of the B-2 fleet can be used for combat missions. For example, the US Congressional investigation report shows that only about half of the US B-2 fleet has mission capabilities in 2024, and the B-2 also needs to perform US nuclear deterrence missions. Therefore, the six B-2s that appear in Diego Garcia are likely to be all the stealth bombers that the US Air Force can currently use.

The War Zone channel explained that the US military deployed the B-2 bomber to Diego Garcia, which is widely believed to be targeting Iran and Houthi forces. Currently, the B-2 is the only US fighter jet that can carry the giant ground-boring bomb of 30,000 pound GBU-57/B "Boat Destroyer". Because the Houthi armed forces have a dense network of underground facilities, ground-boring bombs may be required to carry out effective strikes. Last year, the US military also used stealth bombers to attack the Houthi armed forces, but the effect was unknown. It is not yet confirmed whether the B-2 used ground-boring bombs during the recent air strikes of the Houthi forces.

In addition, although the Houthi armed forces are relatively simple, they are still equipped with a few air defense missiles. Recently, Houthi forces have shot down several US MQ-9 "Death" drones in succession. According to reports, if a manned US fighter jet is shot down over the Houthi-controlled area, how to deal with it will be very difficult. "The US military's operation to save pilots will put more people's lives in danger." Therefore, the "Super Hornet" carrier-based fighter jets taken off from US aircraft carriers mainly use long-range weapons such as JSOW, "Slam-ER" and JASSM to launch air strikes on Houthi armed targets to avoid entering "high-risk areas". In contrast, the B-2's stealth capability allows it to break through the Houthi air defense network, and coupled with its huge weapon carrying capacity, it "can carry out large-scale direct attacks on the most heavily defended Houthi targets."

The Navy Times said that in addition to the B-2 stealth bomber, the US Air Force is also accelerating the deployment of F-35A stealth fighters and A-10 attack aircraft to the Middle East to strengthen the air strike capabilities of the US military in the Middle East. At the same time, according to the order of US Defense Secretary Hegseyth, the deployment time of the USS Truman aircraft carrier strike group in the Red Sea will be extended by at least one month, and the USS Truman aircraft carrier strike group will be transferred from the Pacific Ocean to the Middle East to cooperate with the USS Truman aircraft carrier strike group.

Various anti-missile systems are speeding up to gather in the Middle East

It is generally believed that the US military sent B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia not only to strengthen the air strikes against the Houthi armed forces, but also to "point the sword to Iran." The "War Zone" channel believes that facilities related to Iran's nuclear program and long-range missile program are usually hidden deep in bunkers dozens of meters underground, and only the B-2 has the ability to strike such reinforcement targets.

The U.S. has added THAAD anti-missile system to Israel

The U.S. has added THAAD anti-missile system to Israel

The British Daily Mail also cited Israeli senior news on the 2nd to disclose exclusive news that the United States and Israel are preparing to launch an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. "From an Israeli perspective, with Trump entering the White House, it's the best time to deal with the Iran issue. There's no better opportunity than that," said senior Israeli diplomatic source. "It's been difficult to get precise intelligence on how well Iran's nuclear program is going. But the reality is that Iran (the nuclear capability) is approaching to an uneasy level for everyone -- and that has been going on for some time."

NBC had previously mentioned that Trump threatened that "if Iran does not reach an agreement with the United States on its nuclear issue, the United States will bomb Iran." Iran then warned in a statement that if the United States or Israel launches any aggressive actions or attacks on Iran's sovereignty, territorial integrity or national interests, "Iran will respond quickly and decisively."

Since Iran has a huge reserve of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, external analysts believe that if Iran is attacked by the United States or Israel, it will likely follow the example of last year's retaliatory air strikes against Israel, using a large number of suicide drones as cover, and simultaneously launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at US or Israeli targets, "overwhelming the anti-missile systems deployed by the US military in the local area with a saturated attack."

To prevent this from happening, the US military is currently stepping up the deployment of anti-missile equipment to the Middle East. Israeli media said on the 6th that the United States has deployed two "Patriot" air defense and anti-missile systems and a "THAAD" anti-missile system to Israel. "This military reinforcement is conducted against the backdrop of escalating tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran and the continued ballistic missile attacks of the Houthi forces in Yemen supported by Iran." The Israel Times said on the 6th that this is the second THAAD anti-missile system deployed by the United States to Israel. About half a year ago, the United States deployed an additional THAAD anti-missile system in order to strengthen Israel's ability to deal with Iran's missile attacks.

The "Bulgarian Military" website said that open source information shows that on April 5, a C-5M "Super Galaxy" transport aircraft of the US Air Force set off from Ramstein Air Base in Germany and landed at Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel. Sources revealed that the transport aircraft is the task of transporting the THAAD anti-missile system to Israel. The anti-missile system was developed by Lockheed Martin and is known as "the only anti-missile system that can intercept in the atmosphere and at the same time", with a maximum interception altitude of 150 kilometers.

Compared with other end-stage anti-missile systems equipped by the US military and Israel, the THAAD system has a higher combat height and can shoot down threats with faster speeds, mainly targeting medium-range ballistic missiles with a range of about 1,500-3,000 kilometers. A typical THAAD system consists of a mobile fire control and command and control center, ground AN/TPY-2 long-range X-band radar and up to 9 launch vehicles. Each launch vehicle carries 8 interceptor missiles, which can theoretically quickly guide 72 missiles to intercept 36 incoming targets at the same time.

However, the US Army has only 7 sets of THAAD systems in total. After additional deployments to Israel, it will inevitably affect the US military's anti-missile capabilities in other parts of the world. Similar "stretched" situations also occurred in the United States' additional "Patriot" air defense and anti-missile system to the Middle East. Yonhap News Agency said that South Korea and the United States have recently reached an agreement that the US military stationed in South Korea will draw a "Patriot-3" anti-missile system to the Middle East for a "month-long" deployment mission. "This is the first time that equipment has been transferred from the US military stationed in South Korea to deploy to the Middle East."

US media have previously complained that "Patriots" are the most demanding anti-missile system in the world. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the new round of Pakistan-Israel conflict, the US military had to draw the "Patriots" system around the world to provide it to Ukraine and Israel, resulting in the weakening of the US military's anti-missile capabilities in key areas such as Guam.

Iran is preparing for both

Regarding the current tension in the Middle East, Iranian President Pezekichiyan said on the 5th that Iran will not accept threats and pressures and will only engage in dialogue with the United States on an equal basis. He also said that if the United States wants to negotiate with Iran, the threatening attitude it has taken before is meaningless. Salami, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, stressed that Iran will never become the initiator of the war, but is fully prepared for any war.

Sabahi Falde, commander of the Iranian Hatam Ambiya Air Defense Base, and Amirali Hajizad, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Air Force, went to the southern air defense area and troops stationed on the southern islands on the 5th to evaluate the combat capabilities and defense preparations of these troops. Earlier, Iran's Tehran Times warned that "Iranian missiles have been loaded into launchers in all cities with underground bases and are ready to be launched at any time. Opening Pandora's box will cost the U.S. government and its allies a heavy price."

The Hindustan Times previously disclosed that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait have contacted Iran and said they will not allow the US military to use air bases in their own territory to carry out military operations against Iran. The "Bulgarian Military" website also mentioned that the Diego Garcia base is currently controlled by the UK. Iranian officials have warned that if Iran is attacked by US bombers taking off from the base, then "there will be no difference between the British and US troops" and Iran may attack the bomber group located in Diego Garcia.

The War Zone channel believes that although Iranian ballistic missiles and drones are unable to directly attack Diego Garcia from Iran's homeland, the maximum range of Iran's ballistic missiles is about 2,000 kilometers, and the distance between Diego Garcia and Iran is 3,795 kilometers, Iran has modified several tankers and container cargo ships, which can be used to launch a large number of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, as well as long-range drones. "It is possible for Iran to use these camouflage ships to get close to Diego Garcia and launch drone and missile attacks suddenly."

According to reports, Diego Garcia Island was rarely threatened by external threats in the past, and the base has no reinforced hangars, and the expensive but fragile B-2 bombers could be destroyed by low-end drones. A report from the Hudson Institute, a US think tank, shows that as long as the Diego Garcia base apron is hit by five missiles carrying cluster warheads, all fighter jets parked here will be destroyed or severely damaged.

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