A British warship shot down seven drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea, which were “doing exactly the job” they were deployed to do.
The drones were heading towards the ship HMS Diamond, which the UK had deployed to protect shipping in the area.
HMS Diamond is a Daring Class Type 45 air defense destroyer that joined the fleet in 2011.
Last night, it was doing exactly the job it was designed to do: shooting down airborne threats to other ships.
These photos show the best way to do this is by launching one of the Sea Viper rockets.
The crew on the bridge of HMS Diamond during the engagement. Pic: Ministry of Defense
There's not much to see of the Type 45 before it goes live.
It's a boxy-looking ship, and apart from the standard 4.5-inch naval gun near the bow and a Wildcar helicopter at the stern, the rest of it appears to be a series of containers.
But when the Sea Viper is launched, it appears to explode off the deck, vertically upwards, before setting its course toward whatever target it is aiming for.
And don't miss it.
That's why the Sea Viper is also expensive.
Peak: Ministry of Defense
Peak: Ministry of Defense
Read more:
What the Red Sea Battlefield means for UK shoppers
Gaza residents say “people's suffering is great”
It is interesting to note in these photos that the crew on the bridge of HMS Diamond are all wearing their light up suits.
They were facing an imminent potential attack, and the special suits date back to the days when the Navy in World War I realized how vulnerable a ship's crew was to fires caused by explosions, or any accidents inside the gun. Horoscopes.
In the final image, they're even wearing them in the Combat Information Center – CIC – the protected “castle” where the ship's offensive systems are organized and controlled, existing in an eerie fluorescent glow.
It's a very quiet place on a battleship.
Judgments of life and death are made in this small room at its centre, and they are made by people speaking very calmly and in a matter-of-fact manner.
