Satellite imagery reveals a major buildup on Diego Garcia over the past 48 hours, with at least three C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refuelling tankers arriving at the remote island, reported the online magazine better known as TWZ, which focuses on conflicts and military technology.
Satellite imagery reveals a major buildup on Diego Garcia over the past 48 hours, with at least three C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refuelling tankers arriving at the remote island, reported the online magazine better known as TWZ, which focuses on conflicts and military technology.
A squadron of US B-2 Spirit stealth bombers appears to be en route to the Indian Ocean’s tiny Diego Garcia island, stoking speculation that the US may be preparing for further strikes against the Houthis of Yemen, The War Zone website reports.
The military build-up comes soon after a strong warning directly from President Donald Trump on Truth Social that: "Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as a shot fired by IRAN. And IRAN will be held responsible—with dire consequences.”
Satellite imagery reveals a major buildup on Diego Garcia over the past 48 hours, with at least three C-17 cargo planes and 10 aerial refuelling tankers arriving at the remote island, reported the online magazine better known as TWZ, which focuses on conflicts and military technology.
The timing is striking, coming amid an intensifying US campaign against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and fresh warnings to Tehran over its nuclear ambitions.
“The Biden Administration sat back as a band of pirates – with Iran’s backing – turned one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes into a war zone,” President Donald Trump’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Trump Administration’s actions to hold the Houthis accountable have been a massive success.”
Also Read
### Why Trump has a ‘very good chance of making China great again’, and what India should do
Given the rarity of such a large-scale B-2 movement to one location, the move is almost certainly intended as a direct warning to Iran, TWZ said in its report early on Wednesday.
In 2022, just four B-2s deploying to Australia were seen as a major signal to China. Now, a similar or larger force gathering at Diego Garcia points to a strong message aimed at Iran and its regional proxies.
Air traffic control audio picked up communications from two B-2 bombers flying over Australia on Tuesday. Their crew confirmed the presence of a third bomber, suggesting a coordinated mission. A fourth B-2 had to make an emergency landing at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii Tuesday, the magazine said, though the exact nature of the emergency remained unclear.
Further air traffic recordings suggest that additional B-2s departing from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, home to the US Air Force’s B-2 fleet, were also bound for Diego Garcia, TWZ said. The scope of the movement suggests something far beyond routine operations, it added.
Diego Garcia has long been a vital chess piece in the Pentagon’s global strategy, hosting bombers for critical operations such as the 2001 strikes in Afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Unlike airbases in the Middle East, the island is out of range of Iranian and Houthi missiles, making it an ideal staging ground for missions.
This deployment appears to be part of a broader military surge in which the Pentagon has extended the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group in the Middle East and ordered the USS Carl Vinson battle group to join it.
Data suggest US Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters have also been sent to the region, TWZ said.
The escalation comes after the Houthis resumed attacks after a temporary slowdown in their attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea. Armed with Iranian-supplied precision weapons, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted ships and foreign forces, prompting US retaliatory strikes.
The latest moves come amid controversy in Washington over an extraordinary national security lapse in which a journalist was included in a group chat involving defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who disclosed war plans two hours before the US attacked the Houthi militia.
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to the group chat. Trump has dismissed the leak as a “glitch” that was not serious.
Also Read
### Trump officials’ war plan leak: A journalist gets a front-row seat to military secrets
Trump has made it clear that he views Iran as the puppet master behind the Houthis. On March 17, he warned on Truth Social: “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon as a shot fired by IRAN. And IRAN will be held responsible—with dire consequences.”
Beyond the immediate crisis, the situation underscores the broader showdown between the US and Iran. Since taking office in January, Trump has indicated a willingness to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran – one that would demand complete transparency over its weapons programme. Yet the administration has also suggested that military action remains on the table if Iran refuses to comply.
“We don’t need to solve everything militarily,” US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News last weekend. “But if Iran doesn’t want diplomacy, the alternative is not a great one.”
Diego Garcia is a joint US-UK military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean approximately 1,960 km southwest of Thiruvananthapuram. It is 3,500 km east of Tanzania.
In the 1970s India had tried to oppose the setting up of a US base in the Indian Ocean.
Diego Garcia is part of the Chagos group of islands. The UK has proposed a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control over Diego Garcia through a 99-year lease extendable by 40 years.