A U.S. warship shot down 14 suspected attack drones over the Red Sea on Saturday, and a Royal Navy destroyer downed another drone that was targeting commercial ships, the British and American militaries said.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, and have launched drones and missiles targeting Israel, as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to spread.
U.S. Central Command said that the destroyer USS Carney “successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems” launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The drones “were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries,” Central Command tweeted.
U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping.” The overnight action is the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War.
Shapps said attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.” “The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he said in a statement.
The drone and ballistic missile attacks on commercial and military shipping caused Maersk, the world’s biggest shipping company, to instruct its vessels on Friday to “pause their journey until further notice” through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.
While the U.S. ships, Carney and fellow destroyer Mason, have been busy intercepting Houthi attacks in recent weeks, three more U.S. Navy destroyers have moved into the Mediterranean Sea over the past week as the U.S. beefs up its presence in the region.
The ships join the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group that has been operating in the Mediterranean since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, a deployment that has already been extended twice.
The Ford has its own two destroyers and cruiser escort and has been at the forefront of an expanding American presence in the region in the wake of Hamas’ attack and the subsequent Houthi ballistic missile and drone intercepts by American, French and British warships.
Over the past week, missile-defense destroyers Laboon, Delbert D. Black and The Sullivans have arrived in the Mediterranean to boost the U.S. presence there. Defense officials would not comment on if the ships are heading to the Red Sea.
In addition to Carney shooting down the drones on Saturday, on Dec. 13 the Mason shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that U.S. officials said was launched from Yemen, the second time this month the U.S. warship has opened fire.
Just days earlier, the Mason came to the aid of a commercial ship after it was hit by a cruise missile in the Red Sea’s Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The Carney has also intercepted several drones and cruise missiles that U.S. officials said were flying in the vicinity of the ship.
