New Satellite Image Shows U.S. Air Force Buildup at Key Indian Ocean Base
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) for comment.
Diego Garcia serves as a critical forward base for U.S. military operations stretching from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Its remote location and extensive airfield make it a key launching point for long-range strike missions and rapid-response deployments.
The deployments at the base suggest a readiness for further military action in the region.
The new satellite image revealed a U.S. aircraft presence at Diego Garcia that includes four B-52 strategic bombers, six F-15 fighter jets, and six KC-135 aerial refueling tankers, according to open-intelligence analyst MT Anderson on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Diego Garcia's remote location-about 2,200 miles from Iran and 3,000 from southern China-provides a secure launch point for U.S. aircraft to conduct long-range missions and remain on station.
Significant movement of military equipment at the air base had been taking place since March with experts believing it could be a staging point for any attack on Iran.
In May, the U.S. Air Force announced that B-2 Spirit bombers had returned to Missouri after a deployment to Diego Garcia. On June 13, the U.S. launched a surprise overnight strike on three key Iranian nuclear facilities using B-2 stealth bombers that took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
The overnight mission relied on deception, aerial refueling, and near-total radio silence to maintain secrecy and tactical surprise. Decoy flights toward the Pacific diverted attention from the actual eastward strike.
Codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, seven B-2 bombers dropped over a dozen 30,000-pound bunker busters on deeply buried nuclear sites., making it the most ambitious U.S. stealth airstrike in decades. The bombers had also been used in striking Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen.
Air Marshall Greg Bagwell, former Royal Air Force deputy operations chief told BBC Verify in June: "You would be able to maintain a sustained operation from [Diego Garcia] far more efficiently. You could literally have them round the clock operating."
Diego Garcia's assets remain well-positioned to respond swiftly should tensions in the Middle East or Indo-Pacific escalate, as a ceasefire between Israel and Iran remains fragile and U.S.-Iran diplomatic negotiations are stalled in post-conflict tensions.
Related Articles
Defense Department Worker Charged with Stealing Top-Secret DocumentsB-2 Strikes on Iran Expose Limits of Elon Musk's 'Drone Swarms'Photos Show US Air Force Training for Pacific WarIs Donald Trump Considering Tactical Nukes Against Iran? What We Know
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
27 minutes ago
Trump to kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to deliver a 'spectacular' yearlong birthday party to mark 250 years of American independence. On Thursday, he will be in the U.S. heartland to kick off the patriotic festivities leading up to next year's anniversary. The event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines will feature 'dazzling' displays of Americana and American history, musical performances and a fireworks show to cap the night, said U.S. Ambassador Monica Crowley, Trump's liaison to the organizing group, America250. Organizers see the coming year of festivities as a way to help unite a polarized nation and bridge partisanship — a monumental task given the country's divides. Thursday's event comes as the Republican-controlled Congress pushed for final passage of a sweeping tax cuts and spending package that's at the heart of Trump's legislative agenda but has united all Democrats against it. More U.S. adults also disapprove than approve of how the Republican president is doing his job. Iowa was a 'logical choice' for the kickoff, Crowley said, because of its central location and Trump's affinity for the state, which supported him in each of the last three general elections. She also said Iowa's middle-of-the-country geography is symbolic of the desire to use the coming celebrations to help bring people together. 'We've had so much division and so much polarization over the last many decades, but certainly over the last few years, that to be able to bring the country together to celebrate America's 250th birthday through patriotism, shared values and a renewed sense of civic pride, to be able to do that in the center of the country, is incredibly important,' she said. A recent Gallup poll showed the widest partisan split in patriotism in over two decades, with only about a third of Democrats saying they are proud to be American compared with about 9 in 10 Republicans. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump's performance as president, according to a June AP-NORC poll, while about 6 in 10 disapprove. That poll also showed a majority of Americans said the June military parade that Trump greenlit in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — an event that fell on his 79th birthday — was 'not a good use' of government money. Crowley spoke to the political and ideological schisms that left the country 'torn apart' ahead of its last big birthday celebration, noting that 1976 closely followed the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that led Richard Nixon to resign from the presidency. 'That moment was critical to uniting the country and moving forward, and I am very optimistic and hopeful that the yearlong celebration that we're about to launch will do the same thing in this present moment,' she said in an interview. America's 250th birthday 'is something that I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future,' Crowley said. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, officially marking the 13 colonies' split from Great Britain. 'We're gonna have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years,' Trump said about the birthday during his Memorial Day address to a solemn audience at Arlington National Cemetery. 'In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your president for that." Video of then-candidate Trump proposing a 'Great American State Fair' in Iowa in May 2023 began to recirculate after his reelection last November. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, told the White House earlier this year that Iowa stood 'ready" to host the event and that Trump had the state's full support, according to a draft of Reynolds' letter obtained by The Associated Press. The culminating fair instead will be held next year on the National Mall in Washington, according to a White House official who was not authorized to share details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But Trump honored his initial proposal with a kickoff in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The lineup Thursday night will include Lee Greenwood, according to social media posts advertising the event, whose song, 'God Bless the USA,' is a regular feature at Trump rallies and official events. Also attending will be Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Trump will kick off a yearlong celebration of America's 250th anniversary with event in Iowa
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Iowa was a 'logical choice' for the kickoff, Crowley said, because of its central location and Trump's affinity for the state, which supported him in each of the last three general elections. She also said Iowa's middle-of-the-country geography is symbolic of the desire to use the coming celebrations to help bring people together. Advertisement 'We've had so much division and so much polarization over the last many decades, but certainly over the last few years, that to be able to bring the country together to celebrate America's 250th birthday through patriotism, shared values and a renewed sense of civic pride, to be able to do that in the center of the country, is incredibly important,' she said. Advertisement A recent Gallup poll showed the widest partisan split in patriotism in over two decades, with only about a third of Democrats saying they are proud to be American compared with about 9 in 10 Republicans. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of Trump's performance as president, according to a June AP-NORC poll, while about 6 in 10 disapprove. That poll also showed a majority of Americans said the June military parade that Trump greenlit in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army — an event that fell on his 79th birthday — was 'not a good use' of government money. Crowley spoke to the political and ideological schisms that left the country 'torn apart' ahead of its last big birthday celebration, noting that 1976 closely followed the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal that led Richard Nixon to resign from the presidency. 'That moment was critical to uniting the country and moving forward, and I am very optimistic and hopeful that the yearlong celebration that we're about to launch will do the same thing in this present moment,' she said in an interview. America's 250th birthday 'is something that I think that all Americans can come together to celebrate and honor our history as well as our present and our future,' Crowley said. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, officially marking the 13 colonies' split from Great Britain. 'We're gonna have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years,' Trump said about the birthday during his Memorial Day address to a solemn audience at Arlington National Cemetery. 'In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your president for that.' Advertisement Video of then-candidate Trump proposing a 'Great American State Fair' in Iowa in May 2023 began to recirculate after his reelection last November. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, told the White House earlier this year that Iowa stood 'ready' to host the event and that Trump had the state's full support, according to a draft of Reynolds' letter obtained by The Associated Press. The culminating fair instead will be held next year on the National Mall in Washington, according to a White House official who was not authorized to share details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But Trump honored his initial proposal with a kickoff in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. The lineup Thursday night will include Lee Greenwood, according to social media posts advertising the event, whose song, 'God Bless the USA,' is a regular feature at Trump rallies and official events. Also attending will be Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. AP Polling Editor Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Pentagon to erect 4th military zone along U.S.-Mexico border
The Pentagon said Wednesday that a fourth National Defense Area will be erected along the U.S.-Mexico border, this time in Arizona. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo July 2 (UPI) -- The Pentagon is establishing a fourth military defense zone along the U.S.-Mexico border, where American soldiers can apprehend noncitizens on charges of trespassing, the Pentagon's chief spokesman Sean Parnell said Wednesday, amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. The fourth National Defense Area will be controlled by the U.S. Navy and encompass approximately 140 miles of federal property along the U.S.-Mexico border near the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona. The announcement comes a week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the establishment of a 250-mile NDA along the Rio Grande River in Texas' Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, which is to be controlled by the U.S. Air Force. The first NDA was established on April 21, spanning 170 miles along the New Mexico border, followed by the second erected on May 1 in West Texas, covering 63 miles between El Paso and Fort Hancock. The NDAs are zones where U.S. military personnel can temporarily detain alleged trespassers, in this case, those who are seeking to enter the United States via Mexico, and transfer them to appropriate law enforcement authorities. The authorization for their creation comes under President Donald Trump's April 11 memorandum directing the U.S. military to seal the southern border to repel an alleged "invasion" of immigrants trying to enter the country. And the military's ability to perform immigration law enforcement duties follows a March 20 order from Hegseth to become involved in border operations. Parnell announced the creation of the fourth military buffer zone during a regular press conference Wednesday while updating reporters on the military's immigration activities. He said there are approximately 8,500 U.S. soldiers performing duties with Joint Task Force Southern Border, and since March 20, days after the task force was formed, they have conducted more than 3,500 patrols. The militarization of the U.S. southern border is part of Trump's plan to crack down on immigration after having been elected following a campaign during which he often spouted derogatory rhetoric and misinformation about immigrants while vowing to conduct mass deportations. According to Parnell, the relationship between the military and Customs and Border Protection "yielded exceptional results between June 28 and June 30 with zero gotaways across the entire southern border. "We have made incredible progress and will continue to work toward achieving 100% operational control of the border," he said.
