{"id":305848,"date":"2025-03-28T08:08:46","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T08:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=305848"},"modified":"2025-03-30T07:16:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T07:16:12","slug":"massive-u-s-bomber-buildup-continues-at-diego-garcia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=305848","title":{"rendered":"Massive U.S. bomber buildup continues at Diego Garcia"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>George Allison \u2013 UK Defence Journal March 26, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>The United States has now moved at least seven B-2A Spirit stealth bombers to Diego Garcia, significantly expanding its military presence at the remote British-controlled island in the Indian Ocean.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This marks a further escalation in the ongoing preparations for large-scale military action, potentially targeting Houthi forces in Yemen and, as some analysts suggest, Iranian military infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>This continued buildup follows last week\u2019s airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen\u2014described as the largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. The Houthis claim at least 53 people were killed in the latest round of strikes, while the U.S. has reiterated its intent to continue operations until Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea cease.<\/p>\n<p>The activity was first reported by open-source intelligence (OSINT) specialist \u201cIntelFrog\u201d on X (formerly Twitter), who has been using publicly available aircraft tracking data to monitor movements of military assets. IntelFrog initially reported that 18 U.S. Air Force KC-135 tankers were staged at key locations across the Pacific\u2014including Travis AFB in California, Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii, and Andersen AFB in Guam.<\/p>\n<p>These tankers, operating under sequential RCH0## call signs, were followed by flights to Diego Garcia, where multiple C-17A Globemaster III aircraft have also been tracked arriving in recent days. The arrival of these cargo planes indicates a substantial logistics effort\u2014likely involving the delivery of personnel, munitions, and support equipment required for long-range bomber operations.<\/p>\n<p>IntelFrog\u2019s verified flight data now shows at least seven B-2 stealth bombers on or en route to the island, a highly unusual concentration of the platform in one location. These aircraft, which are capable of penetrating sophisticated air defences, are typically reserved for high-value strategic missions and are rarely deployed in such numbers.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A few tankers are now moving from Guam (PGUA) to Diego Garcia (FJDG). Rumors of B-2s up and westbound out of Whiteman, though no numbers yet given.<\/p>\n<p>USAF KC-135s AE065A as RCH011 and ADFF0D as RCH015 are both en route to FJDG from PGUA with others in the air.<\/p>\n<p>3\/ <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pWiSoxEGhp\">pic.twitter.com\/pWiSoxEGhp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheIntelFrog\/status\/1904192857851736160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n&#8212;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The increased military presence comes amid warnings from U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has made clear that airstrikes will continue for as long as Houthi aggression disrupts global shipping lanes. A U.S. official speaking to Reuters stated the operation may continue \u201cfor weeks,\u201d suggesting the buildup is part of a sustained campaign rather than a short-term show of force.<\/p>\n<p>Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have caused serious disruption to global trade, prompting multiple shipping companies to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. The U.S. sees freedom of navigation in the Red Sea as a strategic imperative, and recent movements suggest an effort to neutralise Houthi launch capabilities and, potentially, to deter Iranian interference in the wider region.<\/p>\n<p>The arrival of the seventh B-2A bomber raises the stakes considerably.<\/p>\n<p>Diego Garcia has long played a crucial role in U.S. strategic bomber operations, having hosted B-52 and B-1 missions during the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Its remote location and long runway make it a key forward operating base for long-range operations, especially when regional basing options are constrained by diplomatic or security concerns.<\/p>\n<p>The deployment of at least seven B-2s, combined with a logistics tail of tankers and transports, represents a highly flexible and potent strike capability. It also signals a return to Diego Garcia\u2019s historic role as a launchpad for power projection across the Middle East and South Asia.<\/p>\n<p>As of now, the U.S. Department of Defense has not formally confirmed the purpose of the deployment. However, the scale, timing, and composition of forces all suggest a significant new phase in the campaign against the Houthis, and possibly beyond.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ukdefencejournal.org.uk\/massive-u-s-bomber-buildup-continues-at-diego-garcia\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences,\u201d for every shot fired by the Houthis, Trump recently wrote. Days after that post appeared 7 B-2 Stealth bombers, C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refuelling tankers landed as the Indian Ocean isle of Diego Garcia. Is Trump preparing to strike Iran and its nuclear sites?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":305849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=305848"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305878,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305848\/revisions\/305878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/305849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=305848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=305848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=305848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}