Prosperity Guardian Goes on the Offensive (Well, Not Officially)
Statement via CENTCOM (emphasis mine):
On Jan. 11 at 2:30 a.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Central Command forces, in coordination with the United Kingdom, and support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Bahrain conducted joint strikes on Houthi targets to degrade their capability to continue their illegal and reckless attacks on U.S. and international vessels and commercial shipping in the Red Sea. This multinational action targeted radar systems, air defense systems, and storage and launch sites for one way attack unmanned aerial systems, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
Since Oct. 17, 2023, Iranian-backed Houthi militants have attempted to attack and harass 27 ships in international shipping lanes. These illegal incidents include attacks that have employed anti-ship ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. These strikes have no association with and are separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and Gulf of Aden.
“We hold the Houthi militants and their destabilizing Iranian sponsors responsible for the illegal, indiscriminate, and reckless attacks on international shipping that have impacted 55 nations so far, including endangering the lives of hundreds of mariners, including the United States,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla, USCENTCOM Commander. “Their illegal and dangerous actions will not be tolerated, and they will be held accountable.”
The release came with images of an F-18E making a night cat from (likely) the Ike which is deployed to the region, and what looks like a TLAM lifting off from a DDG.
The F-18E looks to be “Canyon 400” the CAG bird of the “Gunslingers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105, part of CVW-3 based out of NAS Oceana
For reference, Carrier Strike Group (CCSG) 2 currently includes the flagship Nimitz carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), the Tico cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), Burkes USS Gravely (DDG 107), USS Laboon (DDG 58), and USS Mason (DDG 87) of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22, and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 with nine embarked squadrons.
Known as the “Battle Axe,” CVW-3 dates back to the old USS Saratoga in 1928 and has an all-Rhino punch from four F-18E squadrons (VFA-32, VFA-83, VFA-105, and VFA-131).
Meanwhile, the Brits chipped in some strikes made by RAF Typhoons flying 3,200-mile round-trip sorties out of Akrotiri, Cyprus, with the combined target count reportedly being 60 sites across 16 locations by both the USN and RAF with 150 munitions employed.
The use of Typhoon is rare, as the RAF only has five squadrons and usually devotes these modern fighters to air defense (MoD image)
From the MoD statement:
Four RAF Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker therefore used Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct precision strikes on two of these Houthi facilities. One was a site at Bani in north-western Yemen used to launch reconnaissance and attack drones. A number of buildings involved in drone operations were targeted by our aircraft.
The other location struck by our aircraft was the airfield at Abbs. Intelligence has shown that it has been used to launch both cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea. Several key targets at the airfield were identified and prosecuted by our aircraft.
As for the locals, they say 73 sites were hit, with about a dozen casualties, all among their fighters, and they had been given a 2-3 hour warning before the raid. Following much smack talk and lots of public rallies in the Houthi areas, it is possible an effort may be made against the American and allied bases in nearby Djoubuti in the Horn of Africa.
BTW, the strikes on Houthiland came within hours of the Iranian Navy seizing the Greek-owned and Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas in the Gulf of Oman.
A Very “Greyhound Moment”
This TLAM and Rhino blitz against targets ashore in Houthiland comes two days after what has been described as a “Convoy Battle” that saw the Iranian-backed rebels launch a “complex attack” that included 18 one-way attack drones (OWA UAVs), two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile shot down by the Ike’s combined carrier group and the Royal Navy’s HMS Diamond (D34).
Sal Mercogliano – maritime historian at Campbell University– richly detailed in his What’s Going on With Shipping podcast just what that was like from the feedback he has gotten from his contacts in the region.
There is also a bit of chatter that an Iranian merchant ship loitering in the area (Behshad) is actually a floating covert Revolutionary Guard seabase that is feeding targeting information to the Houthi. Behshad has been in the Red Sea since 2021 off Eritrea’s lawless Dahlak archipelago and had arrived there to apparently relive the Saviz, another suspected Iranian spy vessel that had been mysteriously damaged in an attack that some blamed on the Israelis.
If you aren’t listening to Mercogliano’s podcast and are interested in what is going on with the Houthi naval war, you are missing out.
