The Pentagon announced on Thursday that the United States launched air strikes at night using hidden strategic bombers from…Rfizz B-2 Spirit“On weapons storage facilities in Yemeni areas controlled by the Houthi group.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a statement: “The use of long-range stealth bombers of the B-2 Spirit model…demonstrates the global strike capabilities that the United States enjoys to take action against these targets when necessary, at any time and in any place.” “.
This is the first time that Washington has used this bomber to bomb targets in Yemen.
According to a previous statement by the US Army, the B-2 aircraft, which were used for the first time in Serbia (1999) and then in Afghanistan and Libya (2011), in particular, are “an important element of the deterrence capability…that the United States possesses in the Asia-Pacific region.”
What is the B-2 Spirit bomber?
- The long-range bomber usually flies from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, and relies on aerial refueling to carry out missions without landing.
- Designed to penetrate powerful anti-aircraft guns and drop conventional or nuclear bombs on specific locations.
- Its operating range reaches 11,000 km. It is designed for special missions of strategic bombing from high altitude (up to 15,000 m) behind enemy lines.
- It can carry up to 18 tons of conventional or nuclear weapons, including 16 900-kg satellite-guided bombs or eight highly powerful GBU-37 “bunker-buster” bombs.
- At an estimated cost of more than $1 billion per plane, the Pentagon only occasionally uses them for combat missions, usually as a show of force that indicates the United States does not need nearby bases to strike adversaries.
- It is noteworthy that it is hidden because it is not usually detected by military radars.
Commenting on the raids, Nasr al-Din Amer, the deputy head of the group’s media body, threatened on the “X” platform that the United States would “pay the price for its aggression,” and added: “Our position with Gaza and Lebanon will not budge.”
This attack came after the US military carried out 15 strikes earlier this month against targets linked to the Houthis in Yemen, where residents reported explosions at military sites and an airport.
The Houthis have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November, and they say that their operations aim to support the Palestinians following the year-long Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Since the beginning of this year, a US-led coalition has launched raids that it says target “Houthi sites” in various regions of Yemen, in response to its naval attacks, which has been met with a response from the group from time to time.
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