Aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower: Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four straight months at sea defending against ballistic missiles and attack drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis, and now they are defending more regularly as well against a new threat — fast drones. Ships that are shot through the water.
An MH-60S Seahawk helicopter belonging to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.credit: AP
While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface ships in the past against Saudi coalition forces that intervened in Yemen's civil war, they were used for the first time against US military and commercial ships in the Red Sea on January 4.
In the weeks that followed, the Navy was forced to intercept and destroy several American ships.
“It's a little-known threat that we don't have a lot of information about, and it could be very lethal — an unmanned surface ship,” said Adm. Mark Miguez, commander of the 2nd Carrier Strike Group, of which the Eisenhower is the warship. Main.
The Houthis “have ways of controlling them just like they do with (unmanned aerial vehicles), and we have very little fidelity in terms of all the stockpiles they have of USV,” Miguez said.
The Houthis began firing on US military and commercial ships after a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on October 17, just days after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.
The rebels said they would continue to fire on ships crossing the area until Israel stops its military operations inside Gaza.
Sailors participate in a beach picnic on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.credit: AP
The Eisenhower has been patrolling here since November 4, and some of its accompanying ships have been at the site for a longer period, since October.
In those months, Eisenhower's fleet of fighter jets and surveillance aircraft worked nonstop to detect and intercept missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden.
The carrier's F/A-18 fighter jets are also frequently launched to strike missile sites they detect before launching munitions.
As of Wednesday, the carrier strike group — which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region, including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney — had made more than 95 drone interceptions. And anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles, and carried out more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets.
US Central Command reported on Thursday that the strike group intercepted and destroyed seven additional anti-ship cruise missiles and other USV explosives that were intended to be launched against ships in the Red Sea.
A merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden reported a suspected Houthi attack, and the crew and ship were able to safely continue their journey after an explosion occurred near the ship, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center said.
Sailors prepare to load munitions onto an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Sidewinders of Strike Fighter Squadron 86 on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.credit: GT
Later, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming without evidence that rebel missiles hit the ship. The target vessel was identified as the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier, Lycavitos, owned by the British company Helikon Shipping.
The company declined to comment.
Captain Marvin said: “We are constantly monitoring what the Iranian-backed Houthis are doing, and when we find military targets that threaten the capacity of commercial ships, we act in defense of those ships and strike them precisely and violently.” Scott, commander of the carrier air wing's eight warplane squadrons.
The USV threat, which is still evolving, is concerning, Miguez said.
“This is one of the scariest scenarios, to have an unmanned surface ship loaded with bombs that can move at very high speeds. If you're not on the scene right away, it can get ugly very quickly,” Miguez said.
US Central Command also said on Thursday that US Coast Guard ship Clarence Sutphin Jr. boarded a ship in the Arabian Sea bound for Yemen on January 28 and seized intermediate-range ballistic missile parts, explosives, USV components and military communications equipment. .
The ships spent four months at a steady combat pace without days off when visiting port. It takes a toll on sailors, the Eisenhower's commanding officer, Capt. Christopher “Chodah” Hill, said in an interview with The Associated Press aboard the Eisenhower.
A crew member walks next to a C-2 Greyhound aircraft on the runway at Manama Airport, Bahrain, before a flight to the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.credit: AP
The ship keeps up morale by letting sailors know how important their work is and by giving them access to Wi-Fi so they can stay in touch with their families back home.
“I was walking through the decks of chaos the other day and I could hear a baby crying because someone was teleconferencing with their baby boy who he hadn't met yet,” Hill said. “It's unusual, this kind of connection.”
Destroyers don't have Wi-Fi due to bandwidth limitations, which could make it more difficult for those crews.
Not calling home and being in a combat position at sea for so long has been difficult, “but we have each other's backs here,” said Jocelyn Martinez, a gunner's mate second class aboard the destroyer Gravely.
Sailors participate in sporting events on the deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. credit: AP
When a threat is detected and an alarm goes off directing the crew to respond, “it's like an adrenaline rush,” Martinez said. “But at the end of the day, we're just doing what we came here to do, you know, defend my crew and my ship.”
AP
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