After Israel launched its massive airstrikes that were aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program as well as targeting top military leadership, the Islamic Republic launched its ballistic missiles at the Jewish state. As has been the case in the past, Israel’s Iron Dome sprang into action. Yet, as occurred last year when Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel, the latter received some help from Washington.
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that American air defense systems, along with a United States Navy destroyer operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, helped shoot down Iranian missiles as they headed towards Israel. The Pentagon didn’t disclose the name or class of the vessel, but did confirm that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116) would also be sent from the western Mediterranean to the eastern part of the sea to provide additional support.
Last month, DDG-116 took part in joint training exercises with U.S. allies and partners in the Atlantic Ocean. It had previously been deployed to the Red Sea in 2023 to counter the Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen as the group initiated its attacks on commercial shipping in the region. The Houthis also launched missiles at Israel as part of their support for Hamas after the Israel Defense Force (IDF) began its invasion of Gaza in October 2023.
Is Rough Rider Over?
While the U.S. Navy’s Operation Rough Rider concluded in May, after the Houthis agreed to cease targeting commercial shipping, United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) to the Middle East, joining USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), which has been in the region since April.
Each of those carriers was designed to carry upwards of 90 aircraft.
Both have embarked air wings of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, while CVN-70 has deployed F-35C Lightning IIs, the carrier-based version of the Joint Strike Fighter. The F-35C has the highest mission-capable rate of the Lightning II, and the multirole fighter is also able to carry out strikes on ground targets.
Iran has made repeated claims of shooting down Israel’s F-35I Adir, the Israeli-specific variant of Lockheed Martin’s fifth-generation stealth fighter. However, the IDF has disputed the claims. To date, there has been no confirmed photographic evidence of any destroyed F-35s.
U.S. officials have suggested that the buildup, which has included the deployment of aerial refueling aircraft to Europe, along with fighters, is purely for defensive purposes.
“This is an active defense mission. We are committed to protecting our forces and allies in the region,” a U.S. defense official told the Defence-Blog.
Will the U.S. Send in the B-2 Spirits?
The United States Air Force deployed around six Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers to the island of Diego Garcia earlier this spring, while an undisclosed number of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers were also believed to have been sent to the British island territory.
Though some six of the flying wing stealth bombers have returned to the United States, the B-2 Spirit could still be employed to strike Iran. The Spirit has in the past conducted CONUS-to-CONUS missions from the United States. The deployment of the aerial tankers to Europe could imply that the Pentagon is laying a course for the B-2s to fly from Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri, to the Middle East and back if necessary.
Each of the Spirits can carry the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). This “bunker buster” bomb is considered to be among the only ordnance in any military arsenal capable of destroying Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
According to CNBC, the Frodo facility in northwest Iran is the country’s “most advanced and hardened nuclear facility,” and it has been likened to “a fortress.” It is built inside a literal mountain and is reportedly located around 300 feet underground, reinforced with layers of concrete.
“This is in part why Israel has been so eager for U.S. involvement in its offensive operations against Iran in addition to its defensive ones,” CNBC added, noting that Israel simply lacks the means to destroy the facility.
More Than a Bunker Buster Could be Needed
Although the IDF has hit Iran hard, damaging its nuclear program, killing military officials and atomic scientists, the Fordo plant is something that Israel simply can’t take out, short of using a nuclear weapon. That is certainly off the table, so only the U.S. Air Force’s B-2 Spirit and the GBU-57 MOP would be able to get the job done.
Military experts don’t believe it would be a “one-and-done” mission, however.
The GPS-guided warhead, developed by Boeing, is known to be able to penetrate about 200 feet below the surface before exploding, yet, the Iranian facility is so hardened that one or even two might not be enough to get the job done. The U.S. Air Force likely has a small handful, as the GBU-57 is essentially a weapon of last resort.
The lack of a deep arsenal of ordnance is just part of a problem that Washington may face if and when it decides to use the bombs. While the B-2s are stationed in Diego Garcia, it is unclear whether the bunker busters have been deployed to the remote island. The bombers were possibly deployed there to deter the Houthis, and not to strike Iran. Thus, the U.S. military may have the bombers in the region but not the necessary ordnance.
David Des Roches, a professor and senior military fellow at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., told CNBC that multiple bombing raids would be necessary to ensure its destruction. Even with multiple strikes, it wouldn’t be known how much damage the facility took.
“This leads me to believe that for those facilities, Israel will ultimately gain control of the air and then land forces on the ground, force their way into the facility by detonating the doors, and then go and place explosive charges, exfiltrate whatever intelligence they can get, and just detonate it from the inside,” Des Roches told CNBC.
However, there are concerns that any strike on Fordo could result in Tehran launching counterattacks at U.S. assets in the Middle East, including American military bases and embassies. The White House has already announced that any attack would be met with a fierce response. The goal of the U.S. was to de-escalate the situation, but it may depend on whether the Fordo facility is put in the crosshairs.
