Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat — fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water.
Quick Read
- The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have been at sea for four months, engaging in defense against various threats including ballistic missiles, attack drones from Iranian-backed Houthis, and recently, fast unmanned vessels (USVs).
- Houthis have historically used USVs against Saudi coalition forces in Yemen but started targeting U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea for the first time on January 4.
- The U.S. Navy has intercepted and destroyed multiple USVs since then, with Rear Adm. Marc Miguez expressing concerns about the lack of intelligence on these threats and their potential lethality.
- The increase in Houthi attacks on U.S. and commercial vessels followed a deadly explosion at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on October 17, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, with Houthis vowing to continue attacks until Israel ceases its military operations in Gaza.
- The Eisenhower has been patrolling the area since November 4, with its fleet working non-stop to intercept missiles and drones, and its F/A-18 jets targeting Houthi missile sites.
- The carrier strike group, including USS Philippine Sea, USS Mason, and USS Gravely among others, has conducted over 95 intercepts and 240 self-defense strikes on Houthi targets.
- U.S. Central Command reported that the group intercepted and destroyed seven anti-ship cruise missiles and another explosive USV targeting vessels in the Red Sea, and a commercial vessel reported surviving a suspected Houthi attack in the Gulf of Aden.
- Capt. Marvin Scott emphasized the U.S. military’s vigilance and defensive actions against Houthi military targets threatening commercial shipping.
- The USV threat is particularly concerning due to its potential for high-speed, bomb-laden attacks, according to Rear Adm. Miguez.
- The U.S. Coast Guard seized missile parts, explosives, USV components, and military-grade communications equipment bound for Yemen on a vessel in the Arabian Sea on January 28.
- The continuous combat operations without port calls have been challenging for the sailors, with the Eisenhower’s commander highlighting the importance of maintaining morale through connectivity with families.
- The lack of Wi-Fi on destroyers due to bandwidth limitations poses additional challenges for those crews, with sailors relying on mutual support during prolonged periods at sea.
The Associated Press has the story:
On USS Eisenhower, 4 months of combat at sea facing Houthi missiles, a new sea threat
Newslooks- ABOARD THE USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (AP) —
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying warships have spent four months straight at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis, and are now more regularly also defending against a new threat — fast unmanned vessels that are fired at them through the water.
While the Houthis have launched unmanned surface vessels, or USVs, in the past against Saudi coalition forces that have intervened in Yemen’s civil war, they were used for the first time against U.S. military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Jan. 4. In the weeks since, the Navy has had to intercept and destroy multiple USVs.
It’s “more of an unknown threat that we don’t have a lot of intel on, that could be extremely lethal — an unmanned surface vessel,” said Rear Adm. Marc Miguez, commander of Carrier Strike Group Two, of which the Eisenhower is the flagship. The Houthis “have ways of obviously controlling them just like they do the (unmanned aerial vehicles), and we have very little little fidelity as to all the stockpiles of what they have USV-wise,” Miguez said.
The Houthis began firing on U.S. military and commercial vessels after a deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza on Oct. 17, a few days after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. The rebels have said they will continue firing on ships transiting the region until Israel ceases its military operations inside Gaza.
The Eisenhower has been on patrol here since Nov. 4, and some of its accompanying ships have been on location for even longer, since October.
In those months the Eisenhower’s fleet of fighter and surveillance aircraft has worked non-stop to detect and intercept the missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at ships in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden. The carrier’s F/A-18 fighter jets are also frequently launched to take out missile sites they detect before munitions are fired.
As of Wednesday, the carrier strike group — which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason and Gravely, and additional U.S. Navy assets in the region, including the destroyers USS Laboon and USS Carney — has conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets.
On Thursday, U.S. Central Command reported that the strike group had intercepted and destroyed seven additional anti-ship cruise missiles and another explosive USV prepared to launch against vessels in the Red Sea.
A commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden reported a suspected Houthi attack, and the crew and ship were able to safely continue their journey after an explosion occurred near the ship, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree later claimed the attack, asserting without evidence that the rebels’ missiles struck the vessel. He identified the targeted vessel as the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier Lycavitos, owned by the British firm Helikon Shipping. The company declined to comment.
“We are constantly keeping an eye on what the Iranian-backed Houthis are up to, and when we find military targets that threaten the ability of merchant vessels, we act in defense of those ships and strike them precisely and violently,” said Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of the carrier air wing’s eight squadrons of warplanes.
But the USV threat, which is still evolving, is worrisome, Miguez said.
“That’s one of the most scary scenarios, to have a bomb-laden, unmanned surface vessel that can go in pretty fast speeds. And if you’re not immediately on scene, it can get ugly extremely quick,” Miguez said.
U.S. Central Command also reported Thursday that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Clarence Sutphin Jr. boarded a vessel in the Arabian Sea that was bound for Yemen on Jan. 28 and seized medium-range ballistic missile parts, explosives, USV components and military-grade communications equipment.
The ships have spent four months at a constant combat pace with no days off with a port call. That takes a toll on sailors, the commander of the Eisenhower, Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill, said in an interview with The Associated Press aboard the Eisenhower.
The ship keeps up morale by letting sailors know how important their job is and by giving them Wi-Fi access so they can stay connected with their families back home.
“I was walking through the mess decks the other day and I could hear a baby crying because someone was teleconferencing with their infant that they haven’t even met yet,” Hill said. “It’s just extraordinary, that sort of connection.”
The destroyers don’t have Wi-Fi because of bandwidth limitations, which can make it harder for those crews.
Joselyn Martinez, a second class gunner’s mate aboard the destroyer Gravely, said not being in touch with home and being in a fighting stance at sea for so long has been hard, “but we have each other’s backs here.”
When a threat is detected, and an alarm sounds directing the crew to respond, “it is like a rush of adrenaline,” Martinez said. “But at the end of the day, we just do what we come here to do and, you know, defend my crew and my ship.”
