The US revealed the campaign against Houthi in the Red Sea

US soldiers in the Red Sea said they must always be vigilant against the Houthi's constant attacks, sometimes having only a few seconds to react.

At 4 a.m. on February 13, a siren sounded on the US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was on duty in the Red Sea, warning of the appearance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operated by Houthi forces. launched at nearby boats. The crew immediately prepared to deploy fighters to intercept the attack.

Although the UAV was later determined not to be a danger, the incident showed that US warships in the Red Sea must always maintain high vigilance against the constant threat from Houthi forces.

Armed groups in Yemen have recently regularly deployed missiles and UAVs to attack cargo ships as well as warships of the US and its allies in the sea, to show support for Hamas forces after Israel launched a campaign in the sea. Gaza Strip in October 2023.

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the destroyer USS Gravely are the main defense of US forces in the Red Sea. Every day, dozens of fighters take off from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower to roam the sky, ready to launch air-to-ground missiles to destroy Houthi UAVs and missiles before they can leave the launch pad.

However, the US's pre-emptive strike strategy cannot prevent all attacks by armed groups, so Washington's warships still have to regularly activate the defense system to intercept enemy bullets. According to the crew on the USS Gravely, they often only have a few seconds to react to Houthi missile attacks, because this type of bullet flies much faster than UAVs.

We only have a few seconds, at most a few minutes, not more," said Navy Lieutenant James Rodney, information officer on the USS Gravely. The USS Gravely is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of about 1,600 km, but mainly uses close-range missiles to intercept Houthi projectiles.

Last month, a missile launched by an armed group for the first time penetrated the outer defense layer and approached the USS Gravely warship within more than 1.5 km, forcing the ship to activate the Defense Weapons Complex. Extremely Close Range (CIWS) Phalanx to shoot down.

Washington has opened an investigation to determine the reason why Houthi missiles almost penetrated the shield on US warships. Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that US warships may have run out of interceptor missiles, after using a large number to take down attacks. Houth raid

Sailors also said that the Eisenhower aircraft carrier and US destroyers in the Red Sea have not been able to return to port for many months, due to being continuously deployed to deal with Houthi UAVs and missiles. Another reason is that the armed group's attacks are more sophisticated than the US expected. The Houthis have used anti-ship ballistic missiles in raids targeting the Red Sea, marking the first time they have used this type of ammunition. American sailors were not warned about the above threat and are having to learn how to deal with them in real time.

Unfortunately, we were not informed in advance about many issues, especially the Houthi possession of ballistic missiles," said Rear Admiral Marc Miguez, commander of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group. According to Miguez, US intelligence did not pay much attention to the Houthis before the force began attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea, so Washington did not understand the armed group's specific military capabilities.

The US has recently conducted dozens of airstrikes on Houthi-related targets in the sea and on Yemeni territory, but until now it has not been possible to determine how much of the group's strength has been eliminated due to lack of power. intellgence. "The US does not know for sure how many weapons the Houthis have stockpiled, especially those they hide underground," Miguez said. The commander revealed that the armed group had recently changed its tactics, using more UAVs to attack ships in the Red Sea, mainly domestic UAVs Samad-3. This type of UAV has a range of 1,500 km and carries an explosive warhead weighing 18 kg.
The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said the armed group also uses Iranian-copied UAVs such as the Waid series, of which the Waid-2 version has a flight range of up to 2,500 km. "They tried to target US and coalition forces with swarm attacks, using many types of UAVs, combining both ballistic and anti-ship cruise missiles," Colonel Marvin Scott, pointed out. Commander of Carrier Air Wing Three on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, said.

Another difficulty for US forces in the Red Sea is that they are not prepared for combat missions in the sea. The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was initially deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean, but was later ordered to redirect to the Middle East amid rising tensions in the region.

"This is not where we initially thought we would be. Risks always exist every time you have to operate in an area for the first time," said Colonel James Huddleston, deputy commander of the Aircraft Carrier Air Wing No. three, said. "However, we have limited that risk by properly distributing combat firepower."
Michael Zito, a Mark-45 automatic gunner aboard the USS Gravely, also said the sailors initially thought they would have a "relaxed and relaxing" mission, instead of being deployed to the area. as much tension as at the Red Sea. "After all, we have been practicing continuously, day after day for many years, so we are always ready to face anything that may happen. We will do what needs to be done," Zito confirm.