A remote Northern Territory air base was used as a staging post for this week’s United States air strike on underground Houthi weapons stores in Yemen, an attack that has been seen as a warning to Iran.
The Department of Defence confirmed Australia provided support for US strikes on October 17, targeting the Houthi facilities “through access and overflight for US aircraft in northern Australia”.
“Australia is committed to supporting the US, and key partners, in disrupting Houthi capabilities used to threaten global trade and the lives of mariners in the Red Sea, a vital international waterway,” a defence spokesperson said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said early on Friday morning (AEDT) that President Joe Biden ordered the strikes to “further degrade the Houthis’ capability” to destabilise the region and protect US forces in “one of the world’s most critical waterways”.
While the US did not mention Iran, American media noted that the B-2 is the only plane capable of hitting deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities.
US stealth bombers have been targeting Houthi strongholds in Yemen. (Reuters: Hyungwon Kang)
“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified,” Mr Austin said.
“The employment of US Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrate US global strike capabilities to take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.”
The US has been battling Iran-backed Houthis since shortly after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel over a year ago.
US Central Command issued a separate statement that it “conducted multiple, precision airstrikes” on storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, that had “various advanced conventional weapons used to target US and international military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden”.
US forces “targeted the Houthis’ hardened underground facilities housing missiles, weapons components, and other munitions,” it said.
Support consistent with ‘long-standing alliance commitment’
An Australian official said the “support is consistent with our long-standing alliance commitment and close cooperation, demonstrating the interoperability of our militaries”.
“Australia will continue to work with partners to deter actions that undermine global and regional security and stability.”
In October 2022, Four Corners revealed that the US Air Force would build a “squadron operations facility” at Tindal Air Base, south of Darwin.
Two US B-2 bombers landed at Amberley Air Force Base near Brisbane last month, according to a post on X from an account calling itself the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Whiteman is where the US Air Force bases its fleet of B-2 bombers, which is believed to number 19 operational warplanes, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper reported on Friday that the B-2 is the only warplane that can carry the largest class of specially built bombs that can punch through soil, rock or concrete before detonating.
It is not known whether the bombs, known as GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators or MOPs, were used in the mission.
