US warship comes close to Houthi missile in Red Sea

(CNN) — A cruise missile launched by the Houthis into the Red Sea on Tuesday night came within a kilometer of a US destroyer and hit it, four US officials told CNN. The Houthi attack hit a ship. Has reached the closest. American war.

In the past, these missiles have been intercepted by US destroyers in areas at ranges of 12 kilometers or more, officials said. But officials said the USS Gravelly had to use its Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) for the first time since the United States began intercepting Houthi missiles late last year, ultimately shooting down the missile. doing.

The CIWS, a self-propelled machine gun designed for close-range interception, is one of the last lines of defense a ship has to shoot down an incoming missile when other layers of defense fail to intercept it. Are.

The episode highlights that despite multiple US and British attacks on Houthi infrastructure inside Yemen, the Houthis continue to pose a threat to US naval assets and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The development comes just days after three US service members were killed in a drone strike by Iranian-backed militants on a US post in Jordan.

This Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin condemned the “reckless and illegal attacks” against US warships and commercial vessels in the area.

“Here we can also see Iran’s hand in providing the Houthis with advanced conventional weapons, intelligence and expertise,” Austin said during a bilateral meeting with his British counterpart.

A US official said the fact that Gravely was unable to intercept the first missile does not indicate that the Houthis’ attacks have become more sophisticated.

Tom Caraco, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was “concerning” that the Houthi missile managed to come so close to the US warship.

“If you’re going at a pretty good pace, a mile doesn’t mean a lot of time in terms of time,” Karako said.

The Houthis obtained most of their weapons technology from Iran, Karako said. Even slow cruise missiles can cover a distance of a mile in a few seconds, and the narrow waterways of the Red Sea reduce decision time for warship commanders.

The challenge facing air defense is a “capability issue,” Karako said, because U.S. warships have a limited supply of interceptor missiles to use. “We can’t afford to sit here and play ball indefinitely,” he said.

However, the Houthis continued to launch missiles and drones at ships in the Red Sea, and on Wednesday morning they were preparing to launch surface-to-air missiles at US aircraft operating in the area, according to the command. A threat has arisen. Central United States. ,

In a statement, CENTCOM said US forces successfully destroyed the missile before launch.

The United States carried out airstrikes against “multiple” Houthi drones in Yemen on Wednesday, a US official told CNN, in a series of strikes against Houthi weapons before being launched against international shipping lanes and US warships in the region. Is the latest.

Since January 11, the United States has carried out multiple strikes inside Yemen against Houthi weapons depots, command and control nodes and storage facilities, military officials said. Officials have declined to say what percentage of the Houthis’ weapons capabilities have been destroyed by the strikes.

Iran, which supports and arms the Houthis, continues efforts to send weapons and supplies to the group. Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy seized Iranian-made ballistic and cruise missile components from a ship off the coast of Somalia that were destined for the Houthis in Yemen, according to CENTCOM. Two US Navy SEALs died in that operation when one fell overboard and the other jumped into the water trying to save him.

CNN previously reported that Iran has also provided the Houthis with surveillance and tactical intelligence systems, allowing them to better target ships in the Red Sea.

The United States is currently considering responding to the drone strike in Jordan and may target some Iranian or Iranian-backed assets in the region with strikes or cyberattacks, CNN reports. But amid rising tensions on multiple fronts in the region, US officials have repeatedly said they do not want to engage in war with Iran.

“We are not looking for war with Iran. “We do not want to confront the regime through military means,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this week. “We are not expecting to escalate tensions here.”