The clock is ticking on Donald Trump's ultimatum to Iran to give up its nuclear weapons program, and an unusual bomber deployment just put teeth like a pit bull's into it.
Defense analyst and retired Israeli fighter pilot/special forces soldier (what a combo, right?) Naftali Hazony reported on X Monday that "At least six U.S. B-2 bombers are now stationed at Diego Garcia air base in the Indian Ocean."
This is kind of a big deal.
"The B-2 is the only aircraft that can deliver the massive GBU-57," Hazony continued, "one of the only bombs that can destroy Iran’s nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow." The GBU-57 is a massive, 30,000-pound bunker-buster. Lacking heavy bombers, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) simply doesn't have a plane capable of delivering anything of that size and weight.
Other reports indicate that the Air Force has deployed 15-20 tanker planes to Diego Garcia, as well. Having those available gives the B-2s the extended range needed to attack Iran's nuclear facilities (or anything else in the region, for that matter) from any direction. Still, it was awfully considerate of the IAF to cripple Iran's air defense network last year.
The number of B-2 Spirits alone signals to Iran just how seriously Trump takes the nuclear threat. Due to post-Cold War cost savings, we only built 21 out of a planned force of 132 Spirits. We've since lost two, neither in combat. Spirit of Kansas crashed on takeoff in 2008 on Guam, and Spirit of Georgia suffered a gear-up landing and skidded off the runway at Whiteman AFB in 2022. "Georgia" was deemed too expensive to repair and was retired.
That leaves just 19 stealth bombers in the entire inventory but due to their age and the challenges of prepping '80s stealth technology for flight, probably a max of 10 or 12 Spirits available at any one time.
In other words, six of maybe 12 flyable B-2s are ready to go at a moment's notice, just 2,000 miles from Iran. Typically, Spirits fly missions almost anywhere in the world from their home at Whitman in Missouri. Forward-deploying them at Diego Garcia gives them a much quicker turn-around time for a sustained bombing campaign.
The clock is ticking, and I don't just mean Trump's ultimatum that expires in the first week of May. While there's no smoking gun, the Gatestone Institute's Majid Rafizadeh has a detailed report this week on Russia and China's effort to make sure "Iran goes nuclear before end of Trump’s ultimatum" next month. "What remains overlooked is the significant role that China, North Korea, and Russia have been playing to make sure that Iran achieves nuclear weapons breakout before US President Donald J. Trump’s 'two-month ultimatum' runs out."
Even Trump once said to Hugh Hewitt, about North Korea, "I dealt with Kim Jong-un. And he has nuclear weapons. And you tend to speak a little bit differently when they have nuclear weapons."
The other ticking clock concerns the Spirit bombers. The stealth coatings developed for the B-2 way back in the 1980s require a lot of TLC, including being kept in climate-controlled hangars. Diego Garcia only has two of those. There is believed to be enough non-climate-controlled hangar space for one or two more Spirits, but any others have to be left outside in the weather. Left out too long, their stealth skins will require a pricey and time-consuming refurb.
Trump soon needs to either order those extra B-2s home — or into action.
He knows this. So does Tehran.
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