US Central Command said Tuesday that a US warship and fighter jets shot down 12 drones and five missiles in the Red Sea that were fired by Yemen’s Houthis as tensions continue to rise in the region due to the Israeli assault on Gaza.
CENTCOM said the missiles and drones were “fired by the Houthis over a 10-hour period which began at approximately 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on December 26.” The command said the US Navy destroyer USS Laboon and F/A-18 jets from the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group were involved in the incident.
It’s unclear from the CENTCOM statement what the drone and missile barrage was targeting. “There was no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” CENTCOM said.
For their part, the Houthis said they targeted the Israeli port city of Eilat and a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, the MSC United. The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, have vowed to target any ships heading to or from Israel in the region and are not backing down in the face of a new 10-nation naval task force that’s been launched by the US.
Houthi officials have made clear that the only way for their attacks on commercial shipping to end is if the Israeli siege on Gaza is lifted and a durable ceasefire is reached. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said that even if “America succeeds in mobilizing the entire world, our military operations will not stop.”
At $2 million per successful interception this is the best deal the MiC has had in a long long time https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480
Yup. And unfortunately for the US Navy, those missiles don’t exist in sufficient numbers to keep up with cheap drones for very long.
That is a valid point. What the US Navy doing right now is simply playing defense in hoping that Houthi stops this nonsense. If the Houthi continues the attack, at some point, the Navy will go on the offense and take out Houthi military installations.
No doubt, but the Houthis obviously know that and they don’t need “military installations” to launch those cheap drones. Nor do they have to hit much shipping, or even to launch many drones or launch them very often to have a significant effect on shipping through the Suez Canal. Many shippers, including some of the world’s largest, just aren’t going to bet on USN protection. Nor will the insurers.
Maersk has already announced that it is “betting on USN protection” and resuming shipments via the Red Sea/Suez.
We shall see how much money (ships) they actually end up placing on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xavl0qkeSYE
Yes. And that isn’t a refutation of my assertion.
No doubt a great deal of shipping will continue to use that route or return to using it — if, of course, the US effort is mostly effective. And lots won’t.
You are correct about the they don’t need “military installations”. But they do value assets, for example, their small helicopter fleet. Plus the drones themself. And of course, the US could put them on the terrorist list again. We will see what happens.
As sick “peace” activists would say:here:
“Way to go Houthis”
Hope the Houthis dont beg for a ceasefire once they see real hell coming their way.
Don’t expect Houthis begging any time soon; they’ve been fighting the Saudis, with US support, for almost 10 years which isn’t a drop in the bucket of their near thousand years of internal civil wars.
For Their Part, Houthis claimed they hit the boat and Eilat port…! CENTCOM does Not claim they hit All of the missiles and drones…! CENTCOMs claim seems false…! Eilat port is essentially closed…!
Yes, Eilat is mostly out of business, but that was true before the strike referred to here. When shipping is blocked from going through Bab al-Mandab, or just discouraged from sailing there, no one can reach Eilat.