Recently, in the Red Sea, the Houthis successfully used ballistic missiles to sink an Israeli merchant ship, creating a precedent for ballistic missiles hitting ships in actual combat, which also shocked Western countries, including the United States. A number of shipping companies around the world have announced that their cargo ships will suspend their passage through the Red Sea, and instead choose to sail more than 10,000 nautical miles around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa.
This time, the Houthis attacked Israeli merchant ships in the Red Sea, and the impact must be on Israel. Although Israel is located in the Middle East, it lacks its own resources, and it relies on imports for 90% of its supplies. In particular, strategic goods such as oil and gas rely on the Red Sea for transportation, and when the Red Sea is blocked, it will deal a heavy blow to Israel's own economy. Don't look at Israel, which is known as the little bully of the Middle East, but its naval strength is particularly weak. In the face of the Houthi blockade, one can only hope that the United States can help ensure the security of the Red Sea shipping lanes.
After the Houthis announced that they would launch a strike on Israeli merchant ships in the Red Sea, US destroyers rushed to the Red Sea to escort them, but the Houthi ballistic missiles still broke through the US Aegis defense system and hit the Israeli freighter "Unity Explorer", which impressed the whole world with regard to the Houthi guerrillas in slippers.
So why did the Houthis acquire such advanced drone and ballistic missile technology in such a short period of time?This is mainly due to the technical assistance of Iran, which is known to be the Shiite military force in the Middle East, so Iran has maintained good military cooperation with the Houthis, not only providing them with advanced ballistic missile and drone manufacturing technology, but also assisting the Houthis in military training. Therefore, the Houthis have mastered the technology of ballistic missile strikes against ships, which means that Iran has mastered this technology, which will pose a huge threat to the US aircraft carrier hegemony.
After the start of the Palestinian-Israeli war, the US military dispatched two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East to deter them. Its primary deterrent target must be Iran, and the US military even sent the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group into the Persian Gulf, which is a great provocation against Iran. At this time, the Houthis demonstrated their ballistic missile strike technology against ships at sea at a timely time, greatly weakening the deterrent effect of the US aircraft carrier battle group. The sinking of an Israeli merchant ship by a Houthi ballistic missile in front of a US Aegis destroyer is a naked humiliation of the US aircraft carrier strike group.
With the rapid development of military technology, especially after China created a precedent for ballistic missiles to hit aircraft carriers. There is a growing global interest in using ballistic missiles to build an area denial capability against U.S. aircraft carriers. From the analysis of the current situation, Iran certainly has the ability to use ballistic missiles to hit aircraft carriers, which is also an important reason why Iran has behaved particularly tough in the face of provocations by US aircraft carriers. At this time, the use of the Houthis to demonstrate its ballistic missile technology to hit ships is a declaration to the United States that its aircraft carrier deterrence has become a thing of the past.
And for the US military maritime supremacy, this incident will be a major challenge. The U.S. military has long relied on its powerful maritime power to assert its global interests and influence. The Houthi ballistic missile technology of striking cargo ships will make the US military's actions at sea more restricted and threatening, and at the same time provide a demonstration effect for countries around the world. Once such technology is popularized around the world, then the global maritime supremacy of the US military will be completely ended.