Recently, more and more news has revealed details of the fighting when the Houthis in Yemen seized the Israeli ** Park on November 26.
On the same day, the US destroyer USS Mason and the Japanese destroyer Akebano escorting the ship in the Gulf of Aden, after receiving the SOS signal from the crew of the Israeli Zodiak Shipping Company's ** Park, rushed to the scene of the incident to rescue, and finally captured the five Houthi special combatants who were about to flee.
A few hours after the incident, Houthi retaliation came.
In the early morning of 27 November, the USS Mason missile destroyer suddenly discovered that the radar screen showed two ballistic missiles rapidly rising into the air. The two missiles reach hypersonic speeds of more than 5,000 kilometers per hour, weigh nearly 4 tons, and the warhead alone may be as high as 1 ton, with an effective killing radius of up to 150 meters. What's more, after the Mason's radar search, the destroyer Mason found that the missile target was itself.
All the crew members were frightened into a cold sweat, and the United States hurriedly sounded the battle alarm, and at the same time transmitted the air situation warning to the nearby Japan.
At the heart of the Aegis system of the American destroyer USS Mason is the AN SPY-1 electronically scanned fixed array radar, which operates in the S-band, is computer-controlled, has four fixed and phase-scan array complementary antennas, simultaneously emits an electromagnetic energy beam at 360 °, capable of searching, automatic detection, transition to tracking, tracking air and ground targets, and missile engagement support.
The USS Mason destroyer has been in service for more than 20 years and is equipped with the AN SPY-1 radar, which is an early model of the Aegis System Baselines 1 and 2. While the United States was conducting an intense search, tracking, and calculating the missile's possible hit zone, it suddenly discovered that Japan was getting farther and farther away from the radar screen.
After receiving the ballistic missile air situation warning from the destroyer Mason, Japan's first reaction was to run away with a bucket
In the end, the US destroyer USS Mason carried out strong electromagnetic interference when the missiles were approaching, causing the two Houthi ballistic missiles to fail and crash into the Gulf of Aden, about 10 nautical miles away from the United States.
I don't know how the US-Japan joint fleet does military exercises in peacetime Xi, but when it comes to actual combat, Japan's first reaction is to run.
Recently, Tomohisa Takei, chief of staff in the Sea of Japan, admitted that Japan "reacted" after receiving an early warning from the US military.
However, it now seems that not only Japan's performance is not up to standard, but the response of the United States is still difficult to say passable, and the incoming missile fell into the position of 10 nautical miles of the destroyer, and still entered the defense circle of the destroyer's air defense and anti-missile. Although the USS Mason destroyer has been in service for 20 years, it is still equipped with two MK-41 vertical launch devices, 96 launch cells, which can launch Standard-2 anti-aircraft missiles, and two MK-15 Phalanx short-range systems, which can intercept medium- and short-range missiles.
Like the MK-15 short-range ** system, it is normal to have no shooting, but it should also enter a state of readiness for launch, but judging from the reaction of the US military, neither the MK-41 nor the MK-15 have any reaction, and it can only be said that the performance of the US ship is really not good, in other words, the US military is also performing badly.
Now there is ** analysis, in the early morning of the same day, in addition to the American Mason destroyer and the Japanese Akebano destroyer, there is also a US Eisenhower aircraft carrier not far away, and the real target of the Houthis may be the aircraft carrier.
The mother base of all ballistic missile technology is now derived from the German V-2 missile. The Houthi attack used a ballistic missile of the Burkan-2 type, modified by the Houthis themselves, based on the Soviet Scud missiles imported through Iran, with a range of about 2,000 kilometers and a warhead that can carry more than 500 kilograms.
The missile can be launched from a mobile launch vehicle, which means that it can be launched, concealed and transferred, and is highly flexible and survivable, making it ideal for the needs of the Houthis. It is speculated that the launch vehicle was provided by Iran.
The biggest problem with the Scud missile, the poor shooting accuracy due to structural problems, is even more prominent after increasing the range.
The Houthis use a special means of guidance: drones. Missiles can be guided and corrected in the air, and electronic warfare and jammers can be used to interfere with the enemy's radar and communications, so as to improve the accuracy and penetration of missiles.
If it is really an aircraft carrier, the Houthis are right, and the most feasible way to hit an aircraft carrier at present is still a hypersonic missile raid or a submarine sneak attack.
So, for the Houthis, in the Red Gulf, where the strike distance is relatively certain, speed is everything. It's just that after the modified Scud, the range of the missile has increased and the accuracy has also decreased a lot. The Houthis' use of mobile launchers to launch ballistic missiles against aircraft carriers is still essentially a fortified defense operation, a modern version of coastal battery tactics.
The premise of this tactic must have a strong sea and ocean surveillance system, including a network of marine surveillance satellites, electronic reconnaissance satellites, etc., and the most important thing is to have a skywave radar to support the search and positioning of aircraft carriers.
Obviously, the Houthis do not have any aerospace and electronic reconnaissance systems, so how do they locate the location of the US ** ship or aircraft carrier?Either Iran provides intelligence support, or the Houthis have their own drone reconnaissance, and if it is really not enough, they can send fishing boats to track and send signals.
However, compared with the difficulties encountered by the Houthis in fighting the United States and even aircraft carriers, the Americans suddenly discovered that the Houthi slipper army may pose a threat to their own **, which is probably the truth that really makes Americans shudder.