According to Saudi Arabia's "Arab News" on January 28, according to sources, the British Royal Navy ** boat was unable to attack the Houthi strongholds in Yemen because of the lack of necessary missiles. A former senior defense officer called it a "scandal."
According to the British newspaper The Telegraph, Britain has joined the US strike against the Houthis to stop the Houthis from attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea, but the US Navy has had to take on most of the strikes.
A British defense source told The Telegraph that the Royal Navy's destroyer HMS Diamond, stationed in the Red Sea, lacked "the ability to target land." This means that Britain's only offensive capability comes from jets stationed at the Royal Air Force Base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, about 1,500 miles (1 mile is about 1.).6 km).
According to the source, the destroyer "Diamond" was involved in the operation to shoot down "Houthi drones against ships in the Red Sea", and the only effective ** system on this destroyer is stationary artillery.
And the US Navy destroyer is capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1500 miles.
A former senior defense officer told The Telegraph: "This is clearly a scandal and completely unsatisfactory. This happens when the Royal Navy is forced to make critical decisions that could affect its capabilities. ”
"Now, Britain has to fly thousands of miles with Royal Air Force planes to do what a ship-to-surface missile can do," he said. ”
British Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin five years ago as First Sea Lord, warned of the need to "speed up our procurement process" to equip British ships with "ground attack missile systems".
Since then, only one British ship has been temporarily installed with a Norwegian-made naval attack missile, and it has not yet been tested.
Earlier this year, US Navy Secretary Carlos del Toro warned that the Royal Navy's investment was "critical" given the "immediate threats facing the United Kingdom and the United States".
Tobias Ellwood, former chairman of the House of Commons' Select Committee on Defence, urged Defense Secretary Grant Shapps to review the situation.
"Our surface fleet is too small to go land** within effective range," Elwood said. We cannot allow this to continue. ”
A spokesman for the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement: "As with all joint operations, the commander chooses the best equipment according to the task. HMS Diamond is an air defense destroyer that was directly involved in the successful destruction of Houthi drones targeting ships in the Red Sea. (Compiled by Liu Baiyun).