{"id":23825,"date":"2024-02-15T02:44:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T08:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=23825"},"modified":"2024-02-15T02:48:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T08:48:35","slug":"inside-the-us-navys-frontline-fight-against-the-houthis-in-the-red-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=23825","title":{"rendered":"Inside the US Navy\u2019s frontline fight against the Houthis in the Red Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alarms blared on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, warning personnel to prepare for potential flight operations against a Houthi drone<\/u><\/a> that was flying over nearby ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That drone was ultimately deemed not to be <\/strong>a threat. But the incident demonstrated how the crew of the carrier are constantly on a heightened alert for incoming threats from the Iran-backed militants in Yemen, who have been routinely targeting commercial ships as well as US and coalition forces in the key waterway with missiles and drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On board two vessels spearheading the US response to Houthi attacks, the Eisenhower and the US destroyer the USS Gravely<\/u><\/a> in the southern Red Sea, CNN gained unique access and spoke to sailors and pilots who said the Houthi threat remains both unpredictable and unprecedented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Navy is working at a frenetic pace, deploying jets and firing missiles at a moment\u2019s notice to try to destroy the Houthis\u2019 weapons and infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after dozens of strikes\u2002<\/u><\/a>over the last month against Houthi targets both over the Red Sea and inside Yemen, CNN was told that the US military still does not know exactly how much of the Houthis\u2019 capabilities have been destroyed\u2014or how long it will take to deter them for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a wicked problem set that we don\u2019t have a lot of great fidelity on,\u201d said Rear Admiral Marc Miguez, the commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, told CNN on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike state actors like Iran, Russia and China that the US has prioritized for intelligence collection for years, the US was not paying close attention to the Houthis before they started regularly lobbing missiles into the Red Sea, Miguez said. So the US does not know for sure how much the Houthis have stockpiled, particularly when it comes to what they have buried underground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Houthis\u2019 attacks, moreover, mark the first time anti-ship ballistic missiles have been used in combat, and the personnel on board the warships are learning in real time how to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t exactly where we expected to be on this deployment,\u201d said Captain James Huddleston, the deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing 3 who regularly flies missions over the Red Sea and Yemen. \u201cWhenever you are doing something for the first time in a region, that\u2019s not without risk,\u201d Huddleston said. \u201cBut we have managed that risk to our strike group and our air crew through the management of combat power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of fighter jets take off every day from the Ike carrier to circle the skies over the Red Sea in case they are tasked at a moment\u2019s notice with carrying out a strike against a Houthi target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the jets carry air to ground missiles so they can respond immediately to a threat, Miguez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, we don\u2019t get a lot of heads up on most of this stuff\u2014especially the ballistic missiles,\u201d he said. The Houthis have also changed their tactics in recent weeks, using drones more regularly to target and attack ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have tried to target coalition forces, US forces, through swarm attacks, using multiple UAVs, using multiple anti-ship ballistic cruise missiles,\u201d said Captain Marvin Scott, the commanding officer of Carrier Air Wing 3. \u201cThey are trying everything that they can, but we are prepared for anything they may throw our way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases the Houthis have been using the Samad-3 drone, Miguez said, which is long-range and carries an explosive payload. The Houthis have also been using Iranian-made drones, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know for a fact that they are a threat, so we have been taking them down more and more frequently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN previously reported that the US intelligence community has picked up signs that the Iranians are getting nervous\u2002<\/u><\/a>about the Houthis\u2019 attacks because of the impact they have had on some of Iran\u2019s only allies, including China and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials believe Iran was at one point using one of its suspected spy ships which has long been parked in the southern Red Sea, the Behshad, to help the Houthis target vessels there. But in a notable shift, Iran moved the ship to the coast of Djibouti earlier this month for the first time in over two years, Miguez said. That has reduced the Houthis\u2019 capability to track ships in the Gulf of Aden, Miguez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the crew on board the USS Gravely destroyer in the Red Sea are the tip of the spear against inbound Houthi missiles and drones. The sailors often only have seconds to respond to an inbound missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could have seconds, or we could have minutes,\u201d said Navy Lieutenant JG James Rodney, who works in the Gravely\u2019s Combat Information Center. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say much more than minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gravely is equipped with long-range Tomahawk missiles that are capable of reaching targets inside Yemen. But more often, the ship is deploying its anti-air and anti-surface missiles at closer ranges as Houthi missiles and drones close in. Last month, however, a Houthi missile got so close to the Gravely\u2014within one mile of it\u2014that the ship had to use its last line of defense, known as the Phalanx, to take it down. That incident is now being investigated, Miguez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Houthis barrages have been so relentless that the Ike carrier and the destroyers deployed nearby have not made a port call in months, which is highly unusual. Sailors said the environment is stressful, but that it has helped to have a mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not what we expected, to be out here,\u201d said FC1 Michael Zito, who helps to operate the Gravely\u2019s 54-caliber Mark 45 gun and other weapons systems on board. \u201cWe expected to have a more relaxed and chill deployment. But this is what we\u2019ve been training for constantly, day in and day out for years, and we\u2019re ready for whatever else comes through.  We\u2019ll do what needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cnn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alarms blared on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, warning personnel to prepare for potential flight operations against a Houthi drone that was flying over nearby ships. That drone was ultimately deemed not to be a threat. But the incident demonstrated how the crew of the carrier are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23826,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1153],"tags":[23716,25303,25304,4823],"class_list":["post-23825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","tag-combat","tag-houthis","tag-red-sea","tag-us-navy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23827,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825\/revisions\/23827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}