WASHINGTON: US B-2 bombers were spotted flying on Saturday across the Pacific Ocean, according to tracking data and media reports, fuelling speculation over their intended mission as President Donald Trump considers joining Israel’s attack on Iran.
Multiple B-2 bomber aircraft left a base in the central United States overnight and were later tracked flying off the California coast along with aerial refuelling jets, The New York Times and specialist plane tracking sites reported.
The B-2 is capable of carrying America’s heaviest payloads, including the bunker-busting GBU-57, a 30,000-pound (13,607 kg) warhead capable of penetrating 200 feet (61 meters) underground before exploding.
Such a bomb, which Israel is not known to possess, is the only weapon capable of destroying Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, AFP reported.
Trump, who rarely spends weekends in Washington, is due to return to the White House on Saturday evening to hold an unspecified “National Security Meeting.”
The president said Friday that Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible US air strikes, indicating he could take a decision before the fortnight deadline he had announced a day earlier.
Experts and officials are closely watching to see whether the B-2 bombers will move forward to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, Reuters reported.
Experts say that Diego Garcia is in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the United States had B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia up until last month, when they were replaced with B-52 bombers.
Reuters was the first to report this week the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe and other military assets to the Middle East, including the deployment of more fighter jets.
An aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific is also heading to the Middle East.
