A U.S. destroyer successfully shot down an anti-ship missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the waters of the Red Sea, according to the United States**. This shot down was carried out by the Phalanx close-in artillery system, and not by conventional ship-to-air missiles. This shows the effectiveness of the "Phalanx" close-in defense artillery system in battle.
However, this has also exposed the weakness of the US military's medium- and long-range air defense and anti-missile fire network. Without the protection of the Phalanx close-in defense artillery system, the American destroyer could have been seriously damaged or even sunk. The "Phalanx" close-in defense artillery system consists of an infrared optoelectronic system, a detection and tracking radar unit, and a 6-barreled 20-mm "Gatling" rapid-fire gun of the M61A1 type.
It can lock onto small targets and fire in bursts at a range of 1500 meters, firing 140-150 shells in one burst. Despite the excellent performance of the "Phalanx" close-in defense artillery system in this battle, its effective combat range is relatively short, only 1500 meters, and it still has certain limitations.
This incident shows that air defense and anti-missile operations are a challenging task for any country. Although the U.S. military's close-in defense artillery system has performed well in protecting ** from missile attacks, it is still necessary to continue to strengthen the capabilities of the medium and long-range air defense and anti-missile fire network to deal with a more complex battlefield environment and threats from different countries.
China's "YJ-12" and Russia's P-700 and other heavy supersonic anti-ship missiles fly fast, only 1-2 seconds to fly 1500 meters, leaving a very small time window for the "Phalanx" system ** to intercept. If the interception is unsuccessful, it will be hit.
However, most of the anti-ship missiles in the hands of the Houthis are subsonic missiles, such as the "Noor" missiles supplied by Iran. The time required for this type of missile to fly the last 1,500 meters is longer, up to 5-6 seconds, which gives the "phalanx" system more opportunities to intercept and improve the success rate of interception.
While the Phalanx system played an important role at a critical moment, the US Navy needs to reflect on why missiles were able to approach destroyers, why the Standard series of anti-aircraft missiles did not shoot down incoming missiles, whether there were multiple rounds of failed anti-missile interceptions, and how to ensure that similar dangers did not happen again.
In addition, in the face of military powers with advanced supersonic anti-ship missiles, the ability of the US Navy to cope and protect itself is also an important question. Therefore, the US military needs to seriously think about these issues and take corresponding measures to improve its defense capability to ensure the security of the country.
If there is a real lack of capacity in all aspects, then it is necessary to evacuate the danger zone and improve itself to avoid similar situations in the future.