US pounds Yemen with bunker busters: Can America beat the Houthis?

Last night, more than 25 airstrikes rained down on Houthi strongholds, from the rugged mountains of Saada to the coastal docks of Hodeidah and the inland expanse of Ibb. At the heart of this barrage were bunker-busting bombs. For 12 hours, U.S. warplanes hammered the Iran-backed militia, leaving five dead and five wounded, according to Houthi officials, and a defiant volley of missiles aimed at an American aircraft carrier in return. It was the latest chapter in a campaign that’s as relentless as it is uncertain, a high-stakes gambit to choke a rebel force that refuses to yield.

The strikes mark an escalation in President Donald Trump’s renewed push to dismantle the Houthis’ war machine. In Saada, a Houthi heartland near Saudi Arabia, 12 of those bunker busters tore into underground lairs: secret arsenals of missiles and drones that have plagued Red Sea shipping and taunted Israel since 2023. Hodeidah’s Ras Isa port saw its docks pummeled, while Ibb lost communication towers vital to rebel coordination. The Pentagon hasn’t named the weapons, but the echoes of October 2024 ring loud: B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropping GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs), each a city-block destroyer, on similar subterranean hideouts.

A War Below Ground

The Houthis aren’t new to American firepower. Since Trump’s return in 2025, over 200 strikes have hit Yemen, a tempo unseen since the coalition wars of the 2010s. But the bunker busters signal a shift, a recognition that surface blows won’t suffice against a foe dug into caves and trenches, fortified by Iranian ingenuity. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called them “facilities adversaries seek to keep out of reach” after an October B-2 run collapsed five weapons bunkers. Satellite images later showed the Houthis clawing back, rebuilding entrances with the tenacity of ants. This time, in Saada, the U.S. aimed deeper, targeting what Arab sources call missile silos and drone depots, assets that keep the group punching above its weight.

Why now?

The Houthis’ campaign against global trade has hit a nerve. Since late 2023, they’ve fired over 100 missiles and drones at ships in the Red Sea, 15% of the world’s commerce, backing Hamas in its fight with Israel. A Wall Street Journal analysis from March 27 pegged their losses at 67 dead, yet their attacks persist, fueled by Iran’s largesse and a labyrinth of underground bases. Trump, fresh off tariff battles, sees Yemen as a proving ground. “We’re sending a message,” National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told NBC News on March 24, after strikes hit Houthi brass. The bunker busters amplify that message, a flex of muscle that whispers to Tehran: we can reach you too.

The Nighttime Barrage

The April 2-3 operation was surgical yet sprawling. In Saada, 12 strikes unleashed MOPs, possibly from B-2s flown from Diego Garcia, 3,000 miles away, into bunkers carved from rock. Hodeidah’s port, a lifeline for Houthi supplies, took a beating around Ras Isa, where cranes and warehouses crumbled. Ibb’s towers fell silent, severing rebel chatter. The Houthi health ministry, quick to tally losses, claimed five killed and five hurt, though U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) stayed mum, a silence typical since October, when it last bragged of “significant damage.”

The Houthis hit back, launching missiles at what they called a U.S. carrier, patrolling the Red Sea. It’s a familiar dance: America pounds, the Houthis parry, and the cycle spins on.

Why It’s a Tough Fight

These aren’t your grandfather’s rebels. The Houthis, a Zaidi Shia sect turned militia, control Yemen’s west with Iran’s tech, drones, ballistic missiles, and tunnels that defy airstrikes. Reuters traced their resilience to natural caves and Soviet-style fortifications, bolstered since 2015 by Tehran’s aid. October’s bunker busters caved in entrances, but Al Jazeera imagery from March showed new tunnels sprouting. “They’re like termites,” a U.S. official told The New York Times on March 26. “You crush one nest, another pops up.”

Trump’s strategy bets on overwhelming force. The B-2s, each costing $2 billion, carry MOPs that burrow 200 feet before detonating: a $3 million punch per bomb. Yet the Houthis endure, their missile salvos a reminder that 200 strikes haven’t broken them. AP News on April 2 tallied 25 deaths since March 15, a drop in their bucket of thousands.

What’s at Stake

For the U.S., it’s about trade and power. The Red Sea’s chokehold on 15% of global shipping ($1 trillion annually) demands security, per Bloomberg (March 23, 2025). For Israel, it’s personal: Houthi drones hit Tel Aviv in March (Al Jazeera, March 27), tying Yemen to the Gaza war. Iran looms over both, its $200 million yearly aid to the Houthis (NYT, March 26) a shadow game Trump aims to disrupt.

But the bunker busters aren’t a silver bullet.

The Wall Street Journal warned on March 27 that Yemen’s terrain and Houthi grit blunt even America’s heaviest hits. CENTCOM’s silence leaves the damage a guess: did Saada’s bunkers collapse, or just shift?

The Bigger Picture

This is Trump’s war now as the Gaza conflict, Iran’s proxies, and Red Sea chaos form a volatile cocktail, and Yemen’s a front line. The Houthis’ missile reply, however feeble, shows they’re not cowed. “They’re testing us,” a Pentagon source told CBS News on March 24. With 25 strikes in one night, America’s testing back, but the endgame’s murky.