U.S. shoots down 12 suicide drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land attack cruise missiles fired by Iran-backed rebels in southern Red Sea over 10-hour period
- Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a barrage of drones and missiles on Tuesday morning, with the attack lasting ten hours
- The attacks headed north, but were intercepted by the USS Laboon and F/A-18 Super Hornets of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group
- The Laboon, in addition to the destroyers Carney and Mason, have all shot down drones and provided assistance to commercial ships in recent weeks
Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a barrage of drones and missiles north toward Israel on Tuesday, with the attack blocked by a US Navy destroyer and F/A-18 Super Hornets.
U.S. Central Command said the attack began at 6:30 a.m. and lasted 10 hours.
“US assets, including the USS LABOON (DDG 58) and F/A-18 Super Hornets of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, shot down 12 one-way attack drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles, and two land-attack cruise missiles. in the Southern Red Sea fired by the Houthis over a 10-hour period beginning at approximately 6:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) on December 26,” Centcom said on X.
“There was no damage to vessels in the area or reported injuries.”
F/A-18C Hornets assigned to the Wildcats of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 131 fly over the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Hornets were in action on Tuesday to shoot down missiles fired from Yemen into the Red Sea
The guided missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) shot down attacks fired from Yemen on Tuesday
The attack came the day after President Joe Biden approved retaliatory strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, following attacks on a US air base in Erbil that wounded three US troops — one of them seriously.
And Tuesday's attack is just the latest attack from Yemen.
On Saturday, Laboon shot down four unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea.
After shooting down the drones, the Laboon responded to distress calls after two commercial ships were attacked. Navy times reported.
The M/V Blaamanen, a Norwegian-flagged owned and operated chemical tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi drone for one-way attack, while the M/V Saibaba, an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker owned is from Gabon, was hit. by a one-way drone, with no injuries reported.
A week earlier, on December 16, the Navy destroyer Carney downed fourteen attack drones in the Red Sea.
CentCom said in a statement earlier this month that the US “has every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.”
Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, announced on December 18 the creation of a multinational task force to help protect civilian ships in the region.