US Navy Destroyers Undefeated vs Houthi Drones in Red Sea
Ship M in recent years they have shifted towards favoring drone attacks, using Iranian one-way drones – drones rigged with explosives.
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By Logan Williams, Warrior Editorial Fellow
The Houthis are a Yemeni, Iran-backed, Shia Islamist insurgency, that has been terrorizing innocent sailors in the Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and the Red Sea for several months. The Houthi terrorists have insisted that these attacks upon global shipping are retribution for the West’s support for the Israeli people, who were themselves brutally attacked by terrorists, on October 7th, 2023.
The United States’ Navy acted swiftly in defense of unrestricted access to the Seas, an indispensable principle enshrined in over a thousand years of international cooperation – long predating Hugo Grotius’ seminal treatise on the subject, The Freedom of the Seas – and a principle without which the present liberal world order would be in dire jeopardy. These principles can be found within the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), to which approximately 164 nations are signatories, including Yemen — although, of course, terrorist groups have no respect for international law.
Within two weeks of Hamas’ monstrous terrorist assault upon Israeli civilians, the United States’ had one amphibious assault ship in the Red Sea, with two more on the way. The United States’ closest longtime partner – the United Kingdom, and France also sent vessels to join the United States’ fleet. On December 18, the United States announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG), which added the support of eight additional states to the initial efforts of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. Afterward, it was reported that ten more countries had chosen to get involved with OPG, but wished their involvement to remain anonymous; these countries are likely states in the Persian Gulf, who fear that their involvement will incite repercussions amongst radical elements at home.
Houthi Terrorists
The Houthi terrorists haven’t just effectively closed one of the most crucial sea shipping routes, responsible for the shipping of most of the fossil fuels produced in the Arab region, but these militants have also sought to maximize civilian casualties in the process.
The Houthis have access to ballistic missiles, sourced from Iran, and they certainly have not shied away from using them to strike civilian ships, but in recent years they have shifted towards favoring drone attacks, using Iranian one-way drones – drones rigged with explosives, designed to explode on contact with a target – in swarms, which can even overwhelm some air defense systems. Drones are cheaper to produce (costing just a few thousand dollars), and thus, are far easier to come by than ballistic missiles, making them the perfect tool for a terrorist seeking to sustain violence over a long period of time.
U.S. Navy vessels have been forced into a position in which the crew has to effectively and efficiently, track and destroy tens of these cheaply manufactured, flying IEDs, in one altercation. This is a mission for which the United States’ destroyers were not designed.