Red Sea Update (spoiler: it is not as quiet as it seems)
With the undeclared asymmetric naval war in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden stretching into its eighth month (and Operation Prosperity Guardian into its sixth), it has largely fallen from Page 1 of the mainstream media to more like Page 25.
So what’s going on?
The official news has been limited, but CENTCOM continues to put out terse almost daily reports of engagements against anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM), uncrewed surface vessels (USV), uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), and one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) fired by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
These attacks seem to come mostly in the late night or early mornings, often under the cover of darkness, and, gratefully, are almost always anticlimactic, with coalition assets easily able to counter/destroy them through a usually undisclosed mix of soft and hard kill systems employed by both airborne and afloat assets with no damage or casualties to report.
Gone are the cumulative tracking announcements from CENTCOM (e.g. “this is the 29th attack) as, well, the numbers probably got too high.
Take the following pressers into account just for the first week of May:
May 2: “At approximately 2:00 p.m. (Sanaa time) on May 2, 2024, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed three uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in an Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.”
May 6: “At approximately 10:47 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 6, 2024, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged and destroyed one uncrewed aerial system (UAS) launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists over the Red Sea.
Between approximately 11:02 p.m. and 11:48 p.m. (Sanaa time) on May 6, Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched three uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) over the Gulf of Aden from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. A coalition ship successfully engaged one UAS, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged the second UAS, and the final UAS crashed in the Gulf of Aden.”
May 7: “At approximately 5:02 a.m. (Sanaa time) on May 7, Iran-backed Houthi terrorists launched an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) over the Gulf of Aden.”
The most hectic day in recent memory was the swarm attack of 9 March that saw “28 uncrewed aerial vehicles between 4:00 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. (Sanaa time).”
Acknowledging the ongoing combat operations– keep in mind that Carrier Strike Group 2 (USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with Carrier Air Wing 3 embarked, cruiser USS Philippine Sea, and Burkes USS Gravely, USS Laboon, and USS Mason) have been in the Red Sea since 4 November 2023– the SECNAV on 24 April authorized Combat Awards and Devices for those in the Red Sea Area “effective from 19 October 2023 to a date to be determined.”
However, immanent danger pay is not authorized. Whomp, whomp.
A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter jet flies over the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) on Dec. 13, 2023. Deployed as part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG), the Philippine Sea is ready to respond to a range of contingencies in support of national security priorities. IKECSG is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to help ensure maritime security and stability in the Middle East Region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Keith Nowak) 231213-N-PS818-1001
Hopefully, the supply of precious (and expensive) SM-2s and AMRAAMs, which took decades to stockpile, is not emptying as fast as a fat kid with a big gulp. Word is that aerial gun systems (including helicopter door gunners) have been very effective against a lot of these low-speed targets. The French Navy, for one, has confirmed such a shootdown with video.
Speaking of coalition partners (and those coalition-adjacent), both Denmark (the frigate Iver Huitfeldt) and Germany (frigate Hessen) are learning from post-deployment follies to the Red Sea suffered from a variety of missile mishaps, ammo snags, and training problems showing themselves. As a silver lining, this is surely a good development as no casualties were suffered and everyone is taking a hard look at how to fix the problems moving forward.
This comes as the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond, now on her second deployment to the region, has been bagging ASBMs with her, thus far very successful, Sea Viper missile system.
And, just because why not, the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) has reported that piracy is back in style off the Somali Coast, with no less than 28 documented incidents since last November including 3 vessels assaulted and 2 reporting suspicious approaches in just the past 30 days.