US Navy shoots down barrage of Houthi missiles and drones over Red Sea

The US Navy shot down 21 Houthi missiles and drones launched from Yemen, according to a statement from US Central Command, in one of the largest Houthi attacks to take place in the Red Sea in recent months.

The military called it a “complex attack” carried out by the Iranian-backed militants, CNN reported on January 9.

The barrage, launched at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday (January 9) in Yemen, included 18 one-way attack drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile, Central Command said. The attack was launched toward international shipping lanes in the southern Red Sea where “dozens” of merchant vessels were traveling, according to the statement.

Two defense officials had earlier told CNN that the barrage included a total of 24 drones and missiles.

There were no ships damaged in the attacks and no injuries as a result of the massive drone and missile launch, CENTCOM said.

Three destroyers took part in the shoot down of the barrage, one of the officials said.

Two US destroyers, as well as F-18 fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, participated in the combined effort to shoot down the missiles and drones, according to Central Command. The HMS Diamond, an air defence destroyer from the UK’s Royal Navy, was also part of the effort.

The US and other nations have a number of ships in the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a multi-national effort to safeguard shipping in one of the world’s most critical waterways. The coalition consists of more than 20 countries.

The Iran-backed Houthis have said their launches of drones and missiles are showing solidarity with the Palestinian people. Their first series of attacks, which began shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, targeted commercial vessels with some connection to Israel. To date, the Houthis have carried out 26 attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, according to Central Command.