The deployment of six Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers to the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was meant to be seen as a serious show of force. The six bombers, each with a $1.1 billion price tag, accounted for nearly one-third of the United States Air Force’s entire fleet of flying wing aircraft.

The half-a-dozen B-2s are well within striking distance of Houthi positions in Yemen as well as Iran, a fact noted on Wednesday evening by United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

“We’ll let them decide,” Hegseth told reporters when asked if the aircraft were meant to send a strong message to Tehran, Reuters reported.

“It’s a great asset… it sends a message to everybody,” the Pentagon chief told reporters as he visited Panama. “President Trump’s been clear… Iran should not have a nuclear bomb.”

B-2 Bomber Build-Up in Diego Garcia Continues

In addition to the B-2s, the United States is deploying a second Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier to the region. Yet, what message it intends to send seems less clear. A single-carrier strike group is already powerful, and two would be overkill in a confrontation with Iran and the Houthis, right?