Maj Gen P K Mallick, VSM (Retd)
Apart from the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, the Houthis’ attempts to target other ships have failed due to the efforts of US Naval Power.
The Houthi forces, with support from Iran, have asserted responsibility for multiple significant attacks on strategic energy facilities in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier Houthi Attacks: The Houthis have been carrying out attacks against their adversaries for a long time.
The Houthi forces, with support from Iran, have asserted responsibility for multiple significant attacks on strategic energy facilities in Saudi Arabia. Their military capabilities, a combination of conventional and non-conventional weapons obtained from Iran and seized during the 2014 coup in Yemen, have been enhanced with assistance from the Axis of Resistance. These capabilities have enabled them to target locations as far as 900 km to 1,300 km away, including Riyadh, Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, and Abu Dhabi.
In 2016, the Houthis struck the Emirati troop-transport catamaran HSV-2 Swift and tried to attack the USS Mason (DDG-87), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, leading the United States to fire Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs) against Houthi targets. The Houthis employed Iranian-made anti-ship missiles in these attacks.
Houthi unmanned surface vessels were able to attack Saudi tankers as far north as Yanbu, hundreds of nautical miles from Yemeni waters in April 2021. These vessels have caused significant damage to Saudi ships and have temporarily shut down major ports, such as Jeddah.
While the Houthis have failed to hit targets in Israel, they have hit sites in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the past with some accuracy.
On October 19, 2023, the Houthis initiated an attack from Yemen, deploying 29 KAS-04 OWAs drones towards north-western positions in Hodeida and Hajjah governorates along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Additionally, they launched at least three land-attack cruise missiles. The Pentagon press secretary, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, verified that the Iran-backed Houthi militia specifically targeted the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer stationed in the Red Sea. Fortunately, the USS Carney successfully intercepted all three cruise missiles and multiple drones, avoiding any damage or casualties. According to U.S. officials, those weapons systems were designed by Iran. Another Houthi attack against the commercial tanker M/V Central Park on Nov. 27 used the same kind of ballistic missiles Iran has supplied to the Houthis.
Recent Houthi Attacks. From November 19 to December 31, 2023, the Houthis conducted over 23 assaults on merchant vessels in the Red Sea. These incidents underscore the Houthi’s capability to target susceptible tankers and cargo ships navigating the Red Sea. They possess a range of weaponry, including anti-ship missiles, mines, maritime and aerial armed drones, unmanned surface vehicles and helicopters. The Houthis effectively utilise cost-effective tools like drones to inflict significant damage. The challenge lies in the inability of naval vessels to escort every commercial ship, making the protection of these vessels in the Red Sea more challenging than ever.
On December 15, 2023, the Houthis issued a threat against one ship, targeted another with a drone, and fired two ballistic missiles at the MV Palatium III, hitting the vessel. This marked the first-ever use of an anti-ship ballistic missile. All the involved ships carried the Liberian flag. The following day on December 16, 2023, the USS Carne, a U.S. naval vessel, successfully intercepted 14 drones over the Red Sea, while the British ship HMS Diamond took down another. Simultaneously, the Houthis struck a Norwegian cargo vessel with an anti-ship cruise missile, causing a fire and compelling the damaged ship to head to port. Fortunately, no crew members sustained injuries in the incident.
Houthi forces launched Anti Ship Ballistic Missiles (ASBMs) against the Maersk Hangzhou container vessel in the last days of 2023. Following the interception of the missiles by the USS Gravely and the USS Laboon, Houthi speedboats engaged the container vessel, closing to within meters of the ship. In response, the US Navy’s helicopters destroyed at least three Houthi platforms, causing the death of ten militia fighters.
On 9 January, in one of the largest Houthi attacks to date, three US Navy destroyers, Navy F/A-18s from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and a UK destroyer, the HMS Diamond, shot down 21 missiles and drones. There were no ships damaged by the attack and no injuries were reported.
The Houthis are not showing any sign of slowing down, despite a joint statement on 3 December from the governments of the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore and the United Kingdom that this must not continue.
After the joint statement issued on January 3, saying that the Houthis “will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways.”, the Houthis launched an unmanned surface drone against commercial shipping lanes just hours after the joint statement was released. The ‘stern warnings’ aren’t deterring the Houthis.
Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Houthis have launched volleys of cruise missiles and armed drones toward Israel. Thus far, however, none of the missiles or drones have evaded Israeli and/or other countries’ regional air defences.
Apart from the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, the Houthis’ attempts to target other ships have failed due to the efforts of US Naval Power.
Alexander Clarkson at The World Politics Review, marvels at what’s happening: “That the Houthi movement would eventually acquire the military power to paralyze a sea route crucial to the globalized economy would have seemed improbable when it was founded in 1992. … (O) outside observers were caught off-guard by the speed with which the movement opted for confrontation with global powers in response to events in Gaza. … With every major shipping firm diverting its vessels away from the Red Sea and insurance rates skyrocketing for the few commercial vessels still willing to dock at (the Yemeni port of) Hodeidah, the spectre of confrontation with the U.S., Europeans and perhaps even India has led to further deterioration of conditions for those living under Houthi rule.”
How Do Houthis Get Weapons? The Houthis face challenges in obtaining weapons through legal channels due to the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council. To maintain access to essential materials, they resort to bypassing regulations. The Houthis establish covert networks for weapon procurement, exemplified by their acquisition of precise, long-range cruise missiles, which cannot be solely manufactured within Yemen
Iran is suspected of supplying the Houthi rebels with weapons, and the US says Iranian intelligence is critical to enabling them to target ships. Between 2016 and 2023, the U.S., British, Saudi, Australian and French navies interdicted more than 17 Iran-supplied arms shipments, destined for the Houthis, including cruise missile components, surface-to-air missiles, Dehlavieh anti-tank guided missiles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, assault rifles and parts for uncrewed drones and waterborne improvised explosive devices.
In 2019, the US Navy’s USS Forest Sherman (DDG-98) guided missile destroyer intercepted a vessel in the Arabian Sea smuggling Iranian-made arms to Yemen, including a version of the Chinese C-802 (YJ-82/CH-SS-N-6 Saccade) anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM).
White House national security spokesperson Adrienne Watson said, “We know that Iran was deeply involved in planning the operations against commercial vessels in the Red Sea. This is consistent with Iran’s long-term material support and encouragement of the Houthis’ destabilizing actions in the region.” Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
At the United Nations, US Deputy Ambassador Christopher Lu said at an emergency Security Council meeting that Iran has supplied the Houthis with money and advanced weapons systems, including drones, land attack cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. He said Iran also has been deeply involved in planning the Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The Quds Force of Iran has helped the Houthis build stocks of sophisticated weapons including unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles. Since around 2016, Iran has helped the Houthis learn to assemble their weapons using parts from abroad. Iran has offered support to the Houthi attacks, sharing intelligence to assist attacks in the Red Sea and moving its warship into those waters.
USA attacks Houthi targets in Yemen. Since there was no sign of any backing down by the Houthis, on the night of 11 January the the US and UK militaries launched strikes against multiple Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
US and UK “executed deliberate strikes on over 60 targets at 16 Iranian-backed Houthi militant locations, including command and control nodes, munitions depots, launching systems, production facilities, and air defence radar systems, More than 100 precision-guided munitions “of various types” were used.”
The strikes were from fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles. More than a dozen Houthi targets were fired upon by missiles fired from air, surface, and sub-platforms and were chosen for their ability to degrade the Houthis’ continued attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. They included radar systems, drone storage and launch sites, ballistic missile storage and launch sites and cruise missile storage and launch sites. The guided-missile submarine, USS Florida, participated in the attack and fired Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
However, US strikes in Yemen are not unprecedented; according to the Council on Foreign Relations, the US has conducted nearly 400 airstrikes in Yemen since 2002.
In the next part the details of the Houthi arsenal, their characteristics and use and concepts of operations will be discussed.
The author is an Indian Army Veteran
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