A close call
Houthi forces in Yemen fired a missile that got within a mile of a US Navy destroyer on Tuesday. Most missiles are intercepted and destroyed about eight miles before contact. However, the one fired yesterday forced the USS Gravely to use its Close-In Weapon System. The system uses a radar-guided automatic cannon that fires up to 4,500 rounds a minute.
The defense is “a last-ditch, kinetic anti-air defense system. Obviously not an optimal situation if CIWS [the weapons system] has to make the kill,” said Jan van Tol, a retired Navy Warship caption and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank.
Fortunately, the gun was able to not only lock on to the missile but also destroy it before it could reach the US ship. There were no reports of injuries or damages.
Why the missile wasn’t intercepted sooner, officials didn’t say.
Continued attacks
Houthi forces, backed by Iran, have been attacking both commercial and military ships in the Red Sea since the conflict between Israel and Hamas started. The Iranian back group says they will continue their attacks until Israel stops its attack on Hamas.
“So far, those [Navy destroyer] crews have been doing a very good job knocking these Houthi missiles and drones down, but it should be kept in mind that, so far at least, these [Houthi weapons] don’t appear to have been very high-performance,” says van Tol.
During all of this commotion, Navy destroyers are continuing to knock out Houth fires on the daily in both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Questions are being raised as to the sustainability of the operation such as these.
Just today the Houthi group reported that they had struck a US merchant ship in the Red Sea, however, it was verified that the claim was fake.
“All American and British ships in the Red and Arabian Seas are legitimate targets for the Yemeni Armed Forces as long as the American-British aggression against our country continues,” said Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea.
The continued attacks are continuing just days after a drone attack on a US base in Jordan killed three US soldiers.
The Pentagon has reportedly blamed Rian-back militants for the attack. Leaders are calling for a pause on attacks against US ground forces in the Middle East.
