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- Collecting parts: what could result in a military confrontation between the United States and Iran
Collecting parts: what could result in a military confrontation between the United States and Iran
The world is on the verge of a new round of escalation in US-Iranian relations. B-2 Spirit strategic bombers have been spotted at the US Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean. At the same time, Iran put its troops on high alert. What is happening today between the United States and Iran and what capabilities both sides have in case of possible military action is in the Izvestia article.
US bomber assembly at Diego Garcia base
Recently, the likelihood of an armed conflict between Iran and the United States has increased markedly. Now there is interest in the deployment of the American B-2 Spirit stealth strategic bombers. This is such an obvious and undisguised military blackmail by America.
Northrop B-2 Spirit is an American heavy stealth strategic bomber
In the last days of March, at least six such stealth aircraft were spotted in satellite images of the American forward base on Diego Garcia Island. The peculiarity of its position is that it can carry out combat missions in all regions adjacent to the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Oceania, India, Africa and the Middle East. The United States has been using this base since 1966 and specifically for strategic aviation. Now, along with the B-2 bombers, KC-135 tanker aircraft are also stationed there, which may be a sign of a really impending strike by American aircraft on targets in Iran.
The US Air Force Global Operations Command has about 20 such "invisibles". It can be assumed that about a third of these aircraft or even a little more are involved in deployment at the Diego Garcia base today. And here it must be remembered that the B-2 Spirit is currently the only carrier of the GBU-57 superheavy non-nuclear bomb, or Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Its mass reaches almost 14 tons, and it was created specifically for the destruction of fortified underground facilities in Iran and North Korea.
A bomb of the MOR type is capable of penetrating about 50-60 m of rocks and reinforced concrete to destroy highly protected objects. In 2024, the American industry increased the production rate of GBU-57 to six to eight units per month - it can be assumed that today there are dozens of such munitions in the arsenals of the global operations Command.
The potential of such bombs implies a plan for a possible operation. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator is a very heavy free—falling bomb, meaning it must be dropped on a target from a carrier aircraft that is directly above the object. Therefore, the US bomber aircraft must enter the airspace of Iran, which has modern air defenses. And this means that either the United States is confident in the complete invisibility of its strategists, which is almost incredible, or it is planned to deprive Iran of its air defense capabilities before attacking Iran's protected infrastructure.
Given the experience of conducting such operations, we can say that the attack will be a combined air and space attack, which will involve a variety of forces. Iran's command centers and air defenses will probably be blocked by strikes from fifth-generation F-35 aircraft, aeroballistic and cruise missiles from US Navy ships and from ground bases. Next, stealth strategists and F/A-18 type attack aircraft will launch strikes. I would also like to hope that this will be a demonstrative, and, consequently, a short-term operation that will not lead to large casualties on the ground. Question: How will Iran respond?
How Iran can respond to the United States
Of course, Iran will not passively wait for developments. Abbas Araqchi, the country's foreign minister, said he was ready to discuss the terms and negotiate a nuclear deal, but at the same time Iran decided to put its armed forces on alert. Against the background of American threats and hints, many analysts believe that Iran is capable of even a preemptive strike on the Diego Garcia base. But by what means?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi
The American base is 3,800 km from Iran's territory, and Iran's arsenals do not have serious weapons reserves for possible strikes at such a range. Iranian kamikaze drones of the Shahed-136B type can strike at a range of up to 4 thousand km. The question is: which part of the launched drones will reach such a distant and air defense-covered target?
Drones and ballistic missiles can be launched from ships, but they must somehow leave the Persian Gulf unnoticed and approach the center of the Indian Ocean. Ballistic missiles with Khorramshahr-type hypersonic warheads can be launched. However, it is not a fact that a missile with a range of 2,000 km has a proven and well-stocked variant with a range twice as long. That is, technically such a strike is possible, but it must be understood that if Iran launches a preemptive strike, the consequences will probably be more serious and multinational.
Therefore, Iran is likely to prepare for retaliatory strikes against American bases and ships in real proximity to its territory. The big question is: will Iran threaten to attack Israel? Maybe it won't be. But US bases in the Persian Gulf and naval groups can be attacked by drones, ships, submarines, and ballistic missiles.
Everyone understands that such a strike will damage the United States, but it will not deprive them of their combat potential. And this is the peculiarity of the current confrontation: if Iran does not attack first, then perhaps its losses will be less than if it launches a preemptive attack. Well, the United States may not strike at all if the political goals of the current confrontation are achieved only through the demonstrative basing of B-2 bombers.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
