By Kris Osborn, President, Warrior
The massing of B-2 stealth attack bombers in Diego Garcia is quite significant, as it brings high-altitude bombing attack possibilities within easy striking range of the Middle East, a scenario some speculate could be a precursor to a surprise strike on Iran. While the Trump administration is not likely to simply attack Iran with B-2s unprovoked, the President has been clear that Iran will be held accountable for its direct support of Houthi attacks on US warships in the Red Sea.
There is a long and documented history of Iran providing weapons and financial support to Houthi rebels, a Yemen-based insurgent group which has been attacking US and commercial shipping in the Red Sea for several years following the start of the Israeli-Hamas war. During the Biden administration, the Pentagon’s policy was to at times attack Houthi launchers with air strikes but primarily use defensive force to track and intercept Houthi drones and missiles fired at US ships. Ship-fired US Navy interceptor missiles, deck mounted guns and fighter-jet launched air-to-air weapons all successfully destroyed incoming Houthi missiles, successfully preventing an actual “hit” on US warships. Several commercial ships, however, were hit by Houthi attacks and US Navy sailors helped rescue crew members on a number of occasions.
At very least, the movement of B-2s to within easy striking range of Iran sends a strong and unambiguous deterrence message that indeed the Trump administration is quite serious about its intent to hold Iran responsible for supporting Houthi attacks. The Iranian support for Houthis is well documented in a significant 2024 research report published by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency called “Seized at Sea: Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis.” The report specifies and provides photographic documentation of many Iranian weapons being deliberately smuggled to the Houthis.
B-2 Attacks on Iran
There are several potential war scenarios in which B-2s might be used to attack Iran. As extremely stealthy high-altitude bombers, B-2s would be designed to fly undetected above Iranian air defenses and use precision weaponry to destroy specific targets from the air. As a broadband stealth platform, the B-2 is intended to elude both low-frequency surveillance radar and high-frequency engagement radar, so that enemy radar and defenses have no idea that an attacking plane is ever “there.”
Therefore B-2s could be used for a series of limited strikes to hit several high-value targets, or launch the beginning of a massive air attack campaign. B-2s would likely be among the first air attack assets to strike Iran, given their altitude and stealth. B-2s could be used to open up an “air corridor” for less stealthy aircraft by destroying air defenses within a specific envelope of air space. Iran does operate some Russian built air defense systems such as S-400s, yet it is not clear they would be positioned to “see,” “track” and “hit” a B-2. Russian air defenses are increasingly using multi-node digital networking technology and RF sensors able to operate at longer ranges on a greater number of frequencies. However it may not be clear just how updated and modernized Iranian air defenses are, as they may not be at all capable of detecting US B-2s. If some kind of detection were possible, Iranian air defenses would be even less likely to succeed in “engaging” or actually “hitting” B-2s. An Iranian ability to hit B-2s has likely decreased substantially in recent years given that the Air Force has implemented a series of significant upgrades to its fleet of 20 B-2s to improve stealth, lethality and an ability to “elude” ground-based air defense radar systems. The B-2 has been upgraded with digital targeting and moving map technology connected to advanced sensors to help crews know the location of air defenses such that they can be eluded or simply avoided by a chosen flight path. The upgrades, which are called B-2 display modernization, began years ago as a sensor program called the Defensive Management System. The effort appears to have generated substantial improvements in a B-2s ability to thwart and elude detection.
Therefore, should Houthi attacks continue, it’s conceivable that the President might order a limited series of B-2 strikes to send a message that Iran will be held accountable. The strikes could function as a warning that a massive air attack campaign could follow a small initial attack should the Houthis not stop their attacks.
After more than 30-years of service, the sleek, bat-like B-2 stealth bomber continues to surge into the future as a heavily upgraded, relevant and lethal war platform armed with a growing complement of weapons.
B-2s flew operational missions in Kosovo, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan and are currently deploying to an Island off India called Diego Garcia in what seems to be a clear message from the Trump administration that Iran will be held accountable for its support for the Houthis.
B-2 Weapons
The B-2 will not only continue to fly but operate with a wide range of performance-enhancing upgrades to ensure it remains highly effective against emerging advanced air defenses such as Chinese HQ-9s, Russian S-400s, and S-500s.
There are a variety of cutting-edge enhancements intended to enable the B-2’s ability to operate in extremely high-threat modern environments, such as the ongoing addition of new, air-defenses detecting sensors, high-speed computing, and weapons applications.
In recent years, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman have been adding new sensors called Defensive Management Systems, sensors which have evolved into systems capable of identifying the locations of enemy threat areas. The DMS system helps pilot crews identify the location of air defenses so as to effectively avoid flying within their radar aperture or minimize the risk of exposure to ground fire.
Other B-2 enhancements involve U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman collaborative efforts to integrate new computer processing, which is 1,000-fold faster than existing or previous computers. While many additional details regarding upgrades to the B-2 are understandably not likely to be available for security reasons, faster computing will significantly improve targeting, sensing, and networking with other platforms across a joint, multi-domain operational environment.
There may be AI-related enhancements and gateways added to enable data sharing across otherwise incompatible transport layers such as RF signals, satellite-transmitted data, or other kinds of wireless technologies and datalinks able to link the B-2 as a surveillance and target-sharing “node” across dispersed multi-domain formations.
B-2 Weapons
The B-2 is also quite different in terms of weaponry, as it is now configured with new software, fire control enhancements and interfaces to enable greater flexibility and a much more expansive arsenal.
The B-2 is also receiving weapons enhancements, such as the upgraded nuclear B-61 Mod 12 variant, a new variant of the decades-old B-61, which combines different variants into a single munition.
The “mod 12,” as it is called, combines the ability to drop earth-penetrating nuclear missions, above-ground “area” detonations, and lower-yield applications to tailor an atomic strike for a specific operational purpose. This allows a greater envelope of attack possibilities for a single bomb, increasing efficiency and removing the need to carry many variants. The B-2 also has an extensive arsenal of nuclear and conventional bombs and cruise missiles, as it can drop a B83 free-fall nuclear bomb, Mk82 general purpose bombs and Mk 84 larger general purpose bombs. The aircraft can also drop various kinds of Joint Direct Attack Munition GPS-guided bombs, to include the GBU-38 and GBU-31 and GBU-28. Air launched missiles are also part of its arsenal as it can fire an AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon and AGM-158 JASSMs. The B-2 also fires the AGM-129 air-launched cruise missile.
B-2 Stealth
It also stands to reason that the B-2 now has vastly improved stealth properties in areas such as “thermal management,” acoustical signature and radar absorbent coating materials. Certainly many details related to stealth enhancements are not likely to be available for security reasons, yet there are undoubtedly new technologies able to decrease the aircraft’s “heat signature,” making it less detectable to radar and infrared sensors. Should an internally buried engine emits a much smaller “heat signature,” the aircraft will fly at temperatures closer to the surrounding atmosphere, therefore making it less detectable. Newer composite materials may have been added, exhaust emissions have likely been adjusted and weapons developers are almost certain to have devised new ways to suppress the aircraft’s electronic signature while still enabling communication.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University
