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Permalinkhttps://www.businessinsider.com/navy-success-against-red-sea-threats-based-decisions-years-ago-2024-4
US Navy wins against familiar and unprecedented Red Sea threats are
being driven by defense decisions it made decades ago
Jake Epstein Apr 10, 2024, 10:09 AM PDT
A missile launches from a US Navy warship in the Red Sea in February.
A missile launches from a US Navy warship in the Red Sea in February. US
Central Command
The US Navy has relied on a variety of tools and systems to engage
Houthi missiles and drones.
Many of the US combat platforms and weaponry have origin stories that go
back decades.
The Navy secretary acknowledged on Wednesday the effectiveness of these
systems in the Red Sea.
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Decisions made decades ago are now defining the Red Sea naval battle
unfolding between American forces and the Houthis, the US Navy's top
civilian official said on Wednesday, highlighting the long reach of
defense decision-making.
For months, Navy warships have engaged Houthi missiles and drones as
part of their mission to protect key international shipping lanes from
attacks carried out by the Iran-backed rebels. Over the course of these
engagements, US forces have at times faced threats unprecedented in
combat, like anti-ship ballistic missiles, off the coast of Yemen.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro acknowledged the effectiveness of
the platforms and weapon systems that American sailors have used to
destroy Houthi threats and traced their origins back decades, in some
cases as far back as 70 years ago.
"The operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden over the past three
months illustrate perfectly how technological investments and force
design decisions made by naval leaders in the past impact operations for
decades," Del Toro said in written testimony to the House Committee on
Appropriations.
A view of the USS Gravely destroyer in the southern Red Sea on Feb. 13,
2024.
A view of the USS Gravely destroyer in the southern Red Sea on Feb. 13.
AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
"The backbone of our air-defense fleet, the Aegis Combat System, first
became a program of record as the Advanced Surface Missile System 60
years ago this year," Del Toro said as part of a budget hearing for the
upcoming fiscal year.
Development of the Advanced Surface Missile System began in the 1960s as
a response to anti-ship missile threats and it eventually evolved into
Aegis, which is an automated weapons control system that can battle
threats in the air and on the water's surface.
Dozens of Navy warships, including some of those that have deployed to
the Red Sea, are outfitted with the Aegis Combat System.
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Putting more emphasis on the importance of defense decisions, Del Toro
in his statement cited the 47-year-old USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the
Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that also maneuvers in the Red Sea as a
leading Navy ship in the ongoing response to the Houthis.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts flight operations in the Red Sea
on Feb. 23.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower conducts flight operations in the Red Sea
on Feb. 23. US Navy photo
From the busy flight deck of the nuclear-powered Ike, F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet fighter jets are taking off and landing around the clock,
sometimes intercepting Houthi threats in the air or striking the rebels
directly in Yemen.
Del Toro referred to this multi-role combat aircraft as the "workhorse
of our air wings" and described it as a "derivative of a strike fighter
platform that first flew 45 years ago this year," referring to the
F/A-18 Hornet.
In the Red Sea, the Ike's Super Hornets are armed with AIM-9X Sidewinder
air-to-air missiles — the latest variant of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, which
entered service 68 years ago, Del Toro added.
These "platforms and weapon systems our Sailors and Marines have used
with great effect in shooting down Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles,
ballistic missiles, and drones can be traced back to development efforts
and disciplined investments from the '60s, '70s, and '80s," Del Toro said.
They are also, the Navy secretary said, the results of "timely
modernizations and upgrades that have enabled these platforms and
systems to be relevant in today's threat environment."
Navy destroyer USS Carney Red Sea
US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Carney defeats a combination of
Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea on October 19, 2023. US
Navy/MCS2 Aaron Lau
The Houthis have been unable to strike any of the US or allied warships
operating in the region, although their missiles and drones have managed
to strike a number of commercial ships. Earlier this year, for instance,
two separate attacks caused one vessel to sink and led to multiple crew
fatalities on another. Nonetheless, the US warships and allied vessels
have seen notable success.
Most recently, on Tuesday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic
missile that was likely targeting a US-owned vessel being escorted by
two American destroyers, but the Pentagon said its forces engaged and
destroyed the threat.
As Houthi attacks continue, US officials continue to assert that
preemptive strikes in Yemen have degraded the rebels' capabilities and
that the Navy will continue its mission in the region for as long as it
is needed.
"We certainly will continue to do everything we can to protect
commercial shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden," Deputy
Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters last week. "And,
of course, do everything that we need to protect our forces as well."
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US Navy warships have the tools to fend off exploding drones like those
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