Western newspapers: Using advanced stealth bombers to attack Houthi weapons caches may be an American warning signal to Iran

The New York Times suggested that the US Air Force's use of advanced B-2 stealth bombers in an attack on Houthi underground weapons depots in Yemen was "an American warning signal to Iran."

Likewise, the British Guardian saw the use of this advanced weapon for the first time as “an escalation that appears in part to be a warning to the Houthis’ supporters in Tehran.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin said President Biden ordered the strikes to “further degrade the Houthis’ ability” to attack ships and disrupt the flow of commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Austin did not mention Iran, but the New York Times report noted that the rare use of the B-2, the only aircraft capable of hitting Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities, against the Houthis was notable at a time of tensions between Israel and Iran that threaten to spill over into full-blown war.

A statement from U.S. Central Command late Wednesday said U.S. Navy "assets" also took part in the attack, which the Tampa, Florida-based unit said was launched against "various advanced conventional weapons used to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels sailing in international waters."

According to the New York Times, attacking buried, fortified sites requires the use of specially designed bombs with thicker steel casings and less explosive than generic bombs of similar size. The heavy casings of these “bunker busters” allow the munition to remain intact as it penetrates soil, rock or concrete before exploding.

The B-2 is the only warplane capable of carrying the largest type of weapon of its kind in the Pentagon's inventory: a 30,000-pound GPS-guided munition called the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator , or MOP , which contains the equivalent of about 5,600 pounds of TNT.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to say whether the weapon was used in Wednesday’s attack. According to the Air Force website, the weapon is capable of hitting targets up to 200 feet below ground before exploding.

The US arsenal also includes 5,000-pound and 2,000-pound penetrating bombs that can be dropped by other warplanes.

The Air Force is believed to have only 19 operational B-2 bombers, all of which are permanently based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, although the Pentagon has occasionally deployed some for training exercises in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

For the B-2 bombers to participate in Wednesday's attack, the planes would have either had to fly back and forth from Missouri to Yemen and refuel in the air, or take off from a base much closer to their targets, the report said.

"Due to operational security, we will not discuss our operational locations within the region," Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said when asked where the B-2s launched Wednesday's attack.