The United States’ use of one of its most important and costly weapon systems, the B-2 stealth bomber, against Houthi underground munitions facilities in Yemen sends a wider message that will be heard in Tehran amid Iran’s confrontation with US ally Israel.
Sending its rare $2 billion B-2 bombers — the US Air Force has only 19 of them — to hit a group that has nothing near that level of sophisticated military hardware seems at first glance like overkill.
Washington has been content to use run-of-the-line weapons fired from aircraft and warships in the region to strike Houthi targets over the past year while suffering minimal if any damage to its platforms.
But US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s words in announcing the strike were telling:
He also said Washington will “not hesitate to take action … to deter attacks against civilians and our regional partners.”
Those words point to Iran in two ways.
Much of Tehran’s nuclear and military command facilities are thought to be in hardened, underground facilities. And there is no more important US “regional partner” in the Middle East than Israel.
As the world awaits Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile strikes, Washington is sending a signal to Tehran it will only tolerate limited further action against Israel.
The last reported combat mission by a B-2 bomber was in January 2017. It would be hard to believe the US waited more than seven years — and a year into the confrontation with the Houthis — to send a costly message to the group alone.