Missiles fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen struck three commercial ships in the Red Sea Sunday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney responded to distress calls from two of those vessels and downed three drones approaching it.
The incidents began about 9:15 a.m. local time when the Carney detected an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched toward the Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier M/V Unity Explorer, according to CENTCOM. It landed near the bulk carrier, said CENTCOM. We do not know what kind of ASBM was used but you can read about what types Houthis have via Iran here.
At about 12 p.m., the Carney engaged and shot down a drone launched from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen, according to CENTCOM. It was headed toward the Carney, "although its specific target is not clear," said CENTCOM. "We cannot assess at this time whether the Carney was a target." There was no damage to the U.S. vessel or injuries to personnel.
A little more than a half-hour later, the Unity Explorer reported being struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. The Carney responded to the distress call. While assisting with the damage assessment, Carney detected another inbound drone, destroying it with no damage or injuries to the Carney or Unity Explorer, which reported minor damage from the missile strike.
There were two more missile attacks on commercial vessels Sunday, according to CENTCOM.
At about 3:30 p.m. the M/V Number 9 was struck by a missile fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen while operating international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, according to CENTCOM. The Panamanian flagged, Bermuda and U.K. owned and operated, bulk carrier reported damage and no casualties.
About an hour later, the Panamanian flagged bulk carrier M/V Sophie II sent a distress call stating it was struck by a missile. Carney again responded to the distress call and reported no significant damage. While en route to render support, Carney shot down another drone headed in its direction. “This represents an escalation,” a U.S. defense official told The War Zone, about these attacks, the latest in a series of such incidents in the Red Sea that have taken place in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
The Houthis on Sunday took credit for attacking two of the commercial vessels but did not acknowledge attacking the Carney or the Sophie II. The Houthis claimed they were attacking Israeli vessels. The Unity Explorer is owned by a British firm that includes Dan David Ungar, who lives in Israel, as one of its officers, The Associated Press reported. The Number 9 is a Panamanian-flagged container ship linked to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, according to AP.
“This morning, the naval forces carried out a targeting operation against two Israeli ships in Bab al-Mandab, namely the ‘Unity Explorer’ ship and the “NUMBER 9” ship,” Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on Twitter. “The first Israeli ship was targeted by an anti-ship missile, while the second ship was targeted by a sea drone.”
The two ships “were targeted after rejecting warnings from the Yemeni naval forces, Saree said. “The Yemeni armed forces continue to prevent Israeli ships from navigating in the Red and Arab Seas until the Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops.”
"One ship was significantly damaged and it is in distress and apparently is in danger of sinking and another ship was lightly damaged," Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters in Tel Aviv, adding that neither ship had a connection to Israel.
This is the latest in a string of attacks in the Red Sea by the Houthis.
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Posts: 15144 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000
It's all about parking lots I'm telling ya. Very large, smooth, nice and flat, parking lots. Blacktop, concrete, doesn't really matter, though crush run is a budget option.
Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
Posts: 8985 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008
From large military drones down to the off the shelf or over the counter drones, drones totally reshaping warfare.
I’ve seen well over a hundred videos of drone attacks in the Ukraine war, and it is CRAZY how effective even the smallest ones are.
Single bomblets dropped or a kamikaze strike have taken out countless vehicles and troops, and MANY vehicles have been main battle tanks.
If not for the perfect surveillance of the battlefield, the easily available and inexpensive force multiplier is THE game changer I’m most worried about. We just need to be on top of this technology, ESPECIALLY in countermeasures since anyone can cause significant harm with the smallest of equipment.
Retired Texas Lawman
Posts: 1226 | Location: Texas | Registered: March 03, 2016
Originally posted by YooperSigs: "Houthi controlled areas". Sounds like a fine spot for a Rolling Thunder strike by B52s. Where is Curtis Lemay now that we need him?
Or a C-130 with a MOAB like Trump did to ISIS in 2017
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
Posts: 23816 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005
So, who do we bill for rescuing all these ships? Missiles aren’t cheap!
Joking aside, how the hell was a US destroyer the only ship that responded to a distress call? This is one of the most heavily trafficked sea lanes in the world, so it isn’t like we were the only ones around. I read that a Japanese ship responded to the first attack, but it doesn’t sound like anyone else responded to the distress calls from these ships. I thought mariners had some sort of duty to render aid? I guess I don’t understand how that really works.
- Bret
Posts: 2476 | Location: OH | Registered: March 03, 2009
Originally posted by wrightd: It's all about parking lots I'm telling ya. Very large, smooth, nice and flat, parking lots. Blacktop, concrete, doesn't really matter, though crush run is a budget option.
Glass.
Posts: 7471 | Location: Idaho | Registered: February 12, 2007
Originally posted by sadlerbw: So, who do we bill for rescuing all these ships? Missiles aren’t cheap!
That's one of the big questions everyone who's watching these events have been asking. We know for sure that the 5" gun was used to knock-down a number of drones but, they'd have to be within visual range. Using a SM2 while highly capable, probably not for drones given the costs. Even using an Enhanced Sea Sparrow or a SeaRAM, the costs are much higher compared to these drones.
quote:
Joking aside, how the hell was a US destroyer the only ship that responded to a distress call? This is one of the most heavily trafficked sea lanes in the world, so it isn’t like we were the only ones around. I read that a Japanese ship responded to the first attack, but it doesn’t sound like anyone else responded to the distress calls from these ships. I thought mariners had some sort of duty to render aid? I guess I don’t understand how that really works.
- Bret
As confined as the Red Sea is, it's still a LOT of space to cover. While US destroyer's Aegis system has the capacity to monitor a big swath of the area, much depends on how it's tuned and how acute it is in picking up certain contacts. There's just a lot that's not being made public.
Posts: 15144 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000
I have always felt that neutralizing cheap munitions with expensive munitions may be foolish in some circumstances, other things being equal. If you spend all your military budget on expensive munitions and then you run out, then you're stuck with NO munitions at all, and your enemy wins the battle or war with their deep inventory of remaining cheap munitions. If you want expensive munitions, make sure you have plenty of cheap munitions to cover your needs after your enemy expends his cheap munitions to force you to waste all your expensive inventory. I'm guessing the last bullet fired, so to speak, wins the battle.
Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
Posts: 8985 | Location: Nowhere the constitution is not honored | Registered: February 01, 2008
Good to see a European nation get involved with the reindeer games... Used an Aster 15, at over $1m a pop...and France doesn't nearly have the numbers of advanced SAM like the US has.
...now, if only someone could deal with that Iranian spy ship in the Red Sea like its sister ship a few years ago
A French frigate that shot down two drones in the Red Sea was acting in self-defence after coming under attack from the unmanned aerial vehicles, the foreign ministry in Paris said on Monday.
The French general staff reported on Sunday that the Languedoc frigate, operating in the Red Sea, had opened fire on two drones heading straight towards it from the Yemen coast, destroying both.
The incident came after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened on Saturday to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and medicine were allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip.
The foreign ministry said the drones were engaged in an "attack" on its vessel and had been downed in "legitimate defence".
The incident occurred amid "attacks and acts of piracy committed by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea", which represented a "worrying increase of assaults on the freedom of navigation in that zone", it added.
The ministry urged the Houthis to "immediately stop attacks on civilians" and the freedom of movement.
France was closely following developments in the Red Sea and called "on all actors to avoid any regional flare-up".
The general staff said on Sunday the drone interceptions happened at 2030 GMT and 2230 GMT on Saturday, 110 kilometres (68 miles) from the Yemeni coast and the port of Hudaydah, which is under rebel control.
The drones "were flying directly towards the vessel", the general staff said.
The frigate used surface-to-air missiles of the Aster 15 type, designed for defence against short- to medium-range threats, a military source told AFP, asking not to be named.
Red Sea tensions
The French navy had not used surface-to-air missiles in self-defence before.
The incident came amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, following a series of maritime attacks by Houthi rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
In a statement posted on social media, the Houthis said they "will prevent the passage of ships heading to the Zionist entity" if humanitarian aid is not allowed into Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Houthis have recently attacked ships they allege have direct links to Israel but the latest threat widens the scope of their targets.
The ministry urged the Houthis to "immediately stop attacks on civilians" and the freedom of movement.
France was closely following developments in the Red Sea and called "on all actors to avoid any regional flare-up".
The general staff said on Sunday the drone interceptions happened at 2030 GMT and 2230 GMT on Saturday, 110 kilometres (68 miles) from the Yemeni coast and the port of Hudaydah, which is under rebel control.
The drones "were flying directly towards the vessel", the general staff said.
The frigate used surface-to-air missiles of the Aster 15 type, designed for defence against short- to medium-range threats, a military source told AFP, asking not to be named.
Red Sea tensions
The French navy had not used surface-to-air missiles in self-defence before.
The incident came amid heightened tensions in the Red Sea and surrounding waters, following a series of maritime attacks by Houthi rebels since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7.
In a statement posted on social media, the Houthis said they "will prevent the passage of ships heading to the Zionist entity" if humanitarian aid is not allowed into Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Houthis have recently attacked ships they allege have direct links to Israel but the latest threat widens the scope of their targets.
It condemned what it said was "a direct threat" to maritime security.
Saturday's incident was the first time that a French military vessel has been targeted by Houthis since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
Israel has responded to the Hamas attack with a relentless military offensive that the Hamas authorities in the besieged Palestinian territory say has killed thousands.
Yemen has a long coastline along the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea, a strategic waterway to Israel in the north.
Posts: 15144 | Location: Wine Country | Registered: September 20, 2000
