The Mystery of the Recent Clashes: Why Was the U.S. Forced to Use B-2 Stealth Bombers Against the Houthis?
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The confrontations between U.S. forces and the Sanaa forces were far from ordinary skirmishes; they turned into a series of surprises that unsettled Washington and pushed it to reconsider its tactics and reassess its opponent’s capabilities in the Red Sea and the broader region.
Two former U.S. commanders revealed that Sanaa’s forces have acquired unexpected capabilities over the past two years, prompting the United States and its partners to deploy B-2 stealth bombers to reduce risks—despite being unable to balance the high cost of defensive counter-operations.
Retired Admiral Gary Roughead, former U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, told the Hebrew newspaper Globes that “the Houthis carried out maritime operations that the United States and other countries found extremely difficult to counter.”
He added: “It is true that Israel succeeded in intercepting missiles from multiple directions, including Yemen, but the Houthis’ capabilities have exceeded the expectations of many.”
Roughead noted that U.S. and Israeli attacks “lack cost balance,” explaining that shooting down an MQ-9 aircraft costs more than $30 million, while the drone used to target it costs no more than about $30,000.
In the same context, Task & Purpose quoted retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Mark Gunzinger, a former B-52 bomber pilot, as saying that “operations in Yemen revealed an air-defense system more advanced than expected, making non-stealth aircraft operations highly risky.”
Gunzinger—who now serves as Director of Capabilities Assessment at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies—added that U.S. aircraft carrier movements have become exposed, pushing Washington to rely on stealth bombers.
He also noted that the difficulty of determining the launch points of attacks—whether from known bases such as Whiteman and Minot, or from other locations—has further complicated military operations in the region.
