Yemen's Houthi missiles are getting closer and closer to US warships, and they have recently been less than 16 km, almost hit the American battleship.
This was CNN's report on the attack on a U.S. warship on the Red Sea route, during an exchange of fire on TuesdayAn anti-ship missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels successfully broke through the multi-layered interception of the US warship, approaching less than 1 mile, or 1., from the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Graveley6 km distance. In the end, the US warship had to urgently activate its last line of defense, that is, its own "Phalanx" close-in defense artillery system, to intercept it.
This distance is already very close for an anti-ship missile, and it only takes a few seconds to be able to hit an American warship. Before that, U.S. warships were generally 8 miles, which is about 12An incoming Houthi anti-ship missile can be intercepted at a distance of 8 km. In other words, the penetration speed of Yemen's Houthi anti-ship firepower has become more and more powerful.
As to why this is the case, there are currently two different points of view.
The first view is that Iran is starting to provide Yemen's Houthis with more powerful anti-ship warfare**. Because in the recent attack on the "Tower 22" military base that killed three US troops, the US military said that the reason why the US air defense system deployed in the base did not intercept the drone launched by the Iranian-backed anti-US forces in time was because the signal signature of the drone was similar to that of the US military drone that was returning home, and it was mistaken by the US military for a friendly force.
So, does Iran have the ability to develop an anti-ship missile with a signal signature similar to that of a U.S. missile, or that of a U.S. ally, and provide it to the Houthis in Yemen? The likelihood of this happening is not low.
The second point of view is that the prolonged and high-frequency sea raids have caused US officers and men to start to take care of one thing at the expense of the other, creating more opportunities for Houthi missiles to penetrate the defense.
From October 19 last year to the present, the US military itself has shot down 68 drones and 19 anti-ship missiles. In addition, a considerable number of Houthi drones and anti-ship missiles were reported by the US military to the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, which then shot them down. Because Yemen's Houthi rebels have also deployed various types of anti-ship ballistic missiles, including the "Persian Gulf-2", in the ship raid war, every time they find an incoming target, the US warships are very nervous.
Of course, it is not only US warships that need to worry about their own safety at present. The U.S. Command said that yesterday morning, the U.S. military destroyed the anti-aircraft missiles prepared to be launched by the Houthis in Yemen ahead of schedule. Considering that the Yemeni Houthis have shot down the F-15 fighter of the Saudi Air Force and the "Reaper" drone of the US military respectively, the US fighter plane that is operating in the airspace of the Red Sea is not impossible to be shot down by the Yemeni Houthis if they are not careful.
Of course, at the moment for the United States, the entire Red Sea escort operation is already about to turn into an "expensive fireworks display". In previous interception operations, the interceptor missiles most often used by the US military were the "Standard-2" series of anti-aircraft missiles. For example, the Standard-2 Block IV anti-aircraft missile sells for $2.1 million each. And the drones that Iran provides to the Houthis in Yemen are generally around tens of thousands of dollars.
If the escort operation is successful, the United States will not be unable to afford this level of interception cost. The worst thing is that the level of attacks on the Red Sea route by Yemen's Houthi rebels is still increasing, and there is no intention of stopping.
Previously, it was rumored that Biden of the United States had planned to launch a "limited ground military operation" against the Houthis in Yemen in order to completely solve the problem of "ship raid warfare" in the Red Sea. But this news has been spread for almost half a month, and I haven't seen the implementation until now, and it is likely to be abandoned.
Block and can't stop, fight and can't fight, and withdraw and unwilling. The Red Sea "ship raid" and the Houthis in Yemen are destined to have a place in the history of the decline of US hegemony abroad.